At least 36,000 Sudanese have fled since takeover of El Fasher to Rapid Support Forces, reports UN agency
Over 36,000 individuals have fled Sudan's Kordofan region east of Darfur beginning Saturday, according to the UN's migration organization.
The strategic central area connecting the country's Darfur regions and the capital region has over recent weeks become the latest battleground in the extended civil war between the Sudanese military forces and the militia group.
Massive Displacement Statistics
An estimated 36,825 people fled five localities in North Kordofan province between 26 October and 31 October, as reported by the International Organization for Migration.
The individuals, primarily walking, traveled to Tawila, a town west of El Fasher that is currently sheltering more than 652,000 refugees.
Heightened Troop Concentration
Citizens of North Kordofan on Monday reported a significant increase in both RSF and army presence across communities throughout the state.
Both armed factions are vying for control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan state capital and a important strategic and command hub that links Darfur to Khartoum.
"Today, all our forces have gathered at the Bara front here," stated an RSF member in a recently circulated video message.
Regional Citizens Describe Protection Issues
A resident of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, described that the number of RSF vehicles had increased substantially since the group's seizure of El Fasher.
"We ceased visiting our farms, concerned about confrontations," the resident explained.
Another resident, who sought confidentiality for protection purposes, also reported that "there has been a substantial growth in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid" over the last fourteen days.
International Warnings and Appeals
A senior UN official raised the alarm last week about "large-scale atrocities" and "ethnically motivated reprisals" by RSF in Bara.
The diplomat alerted to patterns comparable to patterns in Darfur, where RSF combatants have been accused of mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against specific ethnic communities.
The spiritual head on Sunday called for an immediate ceasefire and the creation of humanitarian corridors in Sudan, saying that attacks on civilians and impediments to humanitarian aid "are producing unacceptable suffering."
Sudan's diplomatic representative 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 called on the world nations to categorize the group as a terrorist group.
