More than 36,000 Sudanese people have fled after takeover of El Fasher to RSF, reports UN agency
Over 36,000 people have escaped Sudan's Kordofan area eastern part of Darfur since Saturday, as stated by the UN's immigration body.
The key central region between the country's Darfur provinces and the Khartoum-Riverine region has over recent weeks become the recent fighting area in the 24-month civil conflict between the Sudanese military forces and the militia group.
Substantial Exodus Numbers
An calculated 36,825 people escaped five localities in North Kordofan state between 26 October and 31 October, as reported by the International Organization for Migration.
The people, most on foot, traveled to Tawila, a town western side of El Fasher that is currently accommodating more than 652,000 evacuated individuals.
Heightened Military Presence
Residents of North Kordofan on Monday described a significant increase in both RSF and army presence across urban and rural areas throughout the state.
Both armed factions are vying for control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan regional capital and a important strategic and command hub that links Darfur to Khartoum.
"Today, all our forces have gathered at the Bara front here," commented an RSF member in a recently distributed video declaration.
Regional Citizens Describe Security Concerns
A local inhabitant of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, stated that the quantity of RSF vehicles had increased substantially since the group's capture of El Fasher.
"We stopped going to our farms, afraid of fighting," the local stated.
Another inhabitant, who requested anonymity for security reasons, also reported that "there has been a substantial growth in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid" over the previous fortnight.
International Warnings and Appeals
A senior UN official raised the alarm last week about "extensive crimes" and "ethnic-based retaliations" by RSF in Bara.
The representative cautioned about patterns comparable to patterns in Darfur, where RSF militants have been charged with mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against non-Arab ethnic groups.
The religious leader on Sunday appealed for an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of humanitarian corridors in Sudan, declaring that attacks on civilians and hindrances to humanitarian aid "are producing unacceptable suffering."
Sudan's official envoy to Egypt on Sunday accused RSF of committing war crimes in El Fasher and declared that the Sudanese government would not discuss with the armed faction.
The ambassador further called on the international community to classify the group as a terrorist group.