At least 36,000 Sudanese citizens have fled following capture of El Fasher to paramilitary group, says UN agency
In excess of 36,000 people have fled Sudan's Kordofan area eastern sector of Darfur starting Saturday, according to the UN's migration organization.
The important central zone between the country's Darfur provinces and the Khartoum-Riverine region has over recent weeks become the latest battleground in the two-year civil war between the Sudanese military forces and the paramilitary forces.
Significant Exodus Numbers
An estimated 36,825 people escaped five localities in North Kordofan state between 26 October and 31 October, per data from the International Organization for Migration.
The people, mainly traveling by foot, moved toward Tawila, a town to the west of El Fasher that is currently housing in excess of 652,000 evacuated individuals.
Heightened Troop Concentration
Local inhabitants of North Kordofan on Monday reported a heavy surge in both RSF and army deployment across towns and villages throughout the state.
Both armed factions are competing for control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan regional capital and a important strategic and command center that links Darfur to Khartoum.
"Today, all our forces have assembled at the Bara front here," stated an RSF member in a recently shared video statement.
Regional Inhabitants Describe Protection Issues
A area citizen of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, stated that the quantity of RSF vehicles had risen significantly since the group's capture of El Fasher.
"We ceased visiting our farms, afraid of clashes," the resident stated.
Another civilian, who requested anonymity for safety concerns, also reported that "there has been a substantial growth in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid" over the past two weeks.
World Concerns and Requests
A senior UN official raised the alarm last week about "widespread abuses" and "ethnically motivated reprisals" by RSF in Bara.
The representative warned of patterns echoing those in Darfur, where RSF fighters have been alleged to commit mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against non-Arab ethnic groups.
The religious leader on Sunday urged an prompt truce and the creation of relief routes in Sudan, stating that attacks on civilians and impediments to humanitarian aid "are creating unacceptable suffering."
Sudan's official envoy to Egypt on Sunday charged RSF of perpetrating war crimes in El Fasher and declared that the Sudanese government would not engage with the paramilitary group.
The ambassador further encouraged the international community to classify the group as a terrorist entity.