More than 36,000 Sudanese citizens have evacuated after capture of El Fasher to RSF, reports UN agency
More than 36,000 people have evacuated from Sudan's Kordofan territory east of Darfur since Saturday, according to the UN's immigration body.
The strategic central area connecting the country's Darfur areas and the Khartoum-Riverine region has over recent weeks become the recent fighting area in the extended civil war between the Sudanese military forces and the paramilitary forces.
Massive Exodus Figures
An approximated 36,825 people evacuated from five localities in North Kordofan region between 26 October and 31 October, per data from the International Organization for Migration.
The people, mainly traveling by foot, traveled to Tawila, a town to the west of El Fasher that is currently accommodating in excess of 652,000 evacuated individuals.
Escalated Forces Deployment
Citizens of North Kordofan on Monday reported a substantial rise in both RSF and army deployment across urban and rural areas throughout the state.
Both forces are vying for control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan provincial capital and a important strategic and command base that links Darfur to Khartoum.
"Today, all our forces have assembled at the Bara front here," stated an RSF member in a recently circulated video declaration.
Area Citizens Describe Protection Issues
A resident of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, reported that the amount of RSF vehicles had grown significantly since the group's seizure of El Fasher.
"We stopped going to our farms, afraid of fighting," the resident explained.
Another resident, who requested anonymity 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 Warnings and Appeals
A senior UN official raised the alarm last week about "extensive crimes" and "race-driven revenge attacks" by RSF in Bara.
The representative warned of patterns similar to those in Darfur, where RSF fighters have been alleged to commit mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against certain racial groups.
The church leader on Sunday appealed for an quick cessation of hostilities and the creation of relief routes in Sudan, stating that attacks on civilians and impediments to humanitarian aid "are producing unacceptable suffering."
Sudan's ambassador to Egypt on Sunday accused RSF of perpetrating war crimes in El Fasher and declared that the Sudanese government would not engage with the armed faction.
The representative further called on the international community to categorize the group as a terrorist group.
