At least 36,000 Sudanese citizens have evacuated after fall of El Fasher to RSF, says UN agency
In excess of 36,000 civilians have evacuated from Sudan's Kordofan territory east of Darfur starting Saturday, according to the UN's migration organization.
The strategic central area separating the country's Darfur regions and the Khartoum-Riverine area has during recent weeks become the recent fighting area in the two-year civil war between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary group.
Substantial Evacuation Figures
An estimated 36,825 people escaped five localities in North Kordofan province between 26 October and 31 October, as reported by the International Organization for Migration.
The individuals, mainly traveling by foot, moved toward Tawila, a town western side of El Fasher that is currently sheltering over 652,000 evacuated individuals.
Escalated Forces Deployment
Local inhabitants of North Kordofan on Monday noted a substantial rise 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 state capital and a key logistics and command center that links Darfur to Khartoum.
"Today, all our forces have assembled at the Bara front here," commented an RSF member in a recently circulated video declaration.
Area Residents Detail Protection Issues
A resident of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, described that the amount of RSF vehicles had risen considerably since the group's takeover of El Fasher.
"We stopped going to our farms, concerned about confrontations," the local stated.
Another civilian, who sought confidentiality for protection purposes, also confirmed that "there has been a big increase in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid" over the past two weeks.
Global Alarms and Requests
A senior UN official raised the alarm last week about "extensive crimes" and "race-driven revenge attacks" by RSF in Bara.
The diplomat alerted to patterns echoing those in Darfur, where RSF militants have been alleged to commit mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against specific ethnic communities.
The spiritual head on Sunday appealed for an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of aid passageways in Sudan, saying that attacks on civilians and hindrances to humanitarian aid "are producing unacceptable suffering."
Sudan's ambassador to Egypt on Sunday charged RSF of carrying out war crimes in El Fasher and announced that the Sudanese government would not engage with the paramilitary group.
The diplomat further urged the global community to classify the group as a terrorist group.
