More than 36,000 Sudanese citizens have escaped since fall of El Fasher to paramilitary group, says UN agency

More than 36,000 civilians have escaped Sudan's Kordofan region east of Darfur beginning Saturday, according to the UN's migration organization.

The strategic central area separating the country's Darfur areas and the capital region has during recent weeks become the recent fighting area in the extended civil war between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary forces.

Significant Displacement Statistics

An estimated 36,825 people fled five areas in North Kordofan province between 26 October and 31 October, as reported by the International Organization for Migration.

The people, mainly traveling by foot, headed to Tawila, a town western side of El Fasher that is currently housing more than 652,000 displaced people.

Increased Military Presence

Citizens of North Kordofan on Monday described a heavy surge in both RSF and army presence across urban and rural areas throughout the state.

Both forces are competing for control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan provincial capital and a key logistics and command hub that connects Darfur to Khartoum.

"Today, all our forces have gathered at the Bara front here," stated an RSF member in a recently distributed video declaration.

Area Citizens Report Safety Fears

A area citizen of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, reported that the number of RSF vehicles had risen considerably since the group's capture of El Fasher.

"We ceased visiting our farms, fearing fighting," the individual explained.

Another inhabitant, who sought confidentiality for protection purposes, also indicated that "there has been a substantial growth in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid" over the last fourteen days.

World Warnings and Calls

A senior UN official raised the alarm last week about "widespread abuses" and "ethnic-based retaliations" by RSF in Bara.

The diplomat alerted to patterns comparable to patterns in Darfur, where RSF fighters have been accused of mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against certain racial groups.

The spiritual head on Sunday appealed for an prompt truce and the creation of humanitarian corridors in Sudan, declaring that attacks on civilians and impediments to humanitarian aid "are producing unacceptable suffering."

Sudan's official envoy to Egypt on Sunday accused RSF of carrying out war crimes in El Fasher and declared that the Sudanese government would not discuss with the paramilitary group.

The representative further encouraged the international community to classify the group as a terrorist entity.

Olivia Smith
Olivia Smith

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