More than 36,000 Sudanese citizens have escaped since capture of El Fasher to paramilitary group, says UN agency
More than 36,000 people have evacuated from Sudan's Kordofan area east of Darfur beginning Saturday, as reported by the UN's immigration body.
The strategic central area connecting the country's Darfur regions and the Khartoum-Riverine region has in recent weeks become the latest battleground in the 24-month civil conflict between the Sudanese military forces and the paramilitary group.
Significant Displacement Statistics
An estimated 36,825 people evacuated from five localities in North Kordofan region between 26 October and 31 October, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The civilians, most on foot, traveled to Tawila, a town to the west of El Fasher that is currently housing in excess of 652,000 refugees.
Escalated Forces Deployment
Residents of North Kordofan on Monday reported a significant increase in both RSF and army concentration across urban and rural areas throughout the state.
Both forces are vying for control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan provincial capital and a critical supply and command base that joins Darfur to Khartoum.
"Today, all our forces have converged on the Bara front here," commented an RSF member in a recently shared video statement.
Local Citizens Report Security Concerns
A local inhabitant of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, described that the quantity of RSF vehicles had grown considerably since the group's seizure of El Fasher.
"We stopped going to our farms, fearing fighting," the resident stated.
Another civilian, who requested anonymity for security reasons, also confirmed that "there has been a significant rise in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid" over the past two weeks.
Global Warnings and Calls
A senior UN official sounded warnings 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 combatants have been alleged to commit mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against non-Arab ethnic groups.
The spiritual head on Sunday urged an prompt truce and the creation of relief routes in Sudan, declaring that attacks on civilians and obstacles to humanitarian aid "are creating unacceptable suffering."
Sudan's official envoy to Egypt on Sunday alleged RSF of carrying out war crimes in El Fasher and announced that the Sudanese government would not discuss with the armed faction.
The representative further encouraged the world nations to classify the group as a terrorist entity.
