Over 36,000 Sudanese citizens have escaped following capture of El Fasher to Rapid Support Forces, reports UN agency
Over 36,000 people have fled Sudan's Kordofan area east of Darfur beginning Saturday, as reported by the UN's immigration body.
The key central region separating the country's Darfur provinces and the Khartoum-Riverine area has over recent weeks become the recent fighting area in the extended civil war between the Sudanese military forces and the paramilitary group.
Substantial Displacement Statistics
An approximated 36,825 people fled five districts in North Kordofan state between 26 October and 31 October, as reported by the International Organization for Migration.
The individuals, mainly traveling by foot, moved toward Tawila, a town west of El Fasher that is currently accommodating over 652,000 evacuated individuals.
Escalated Military Presence
Residents of North Kordofan on Monday reported a substantial rise in both RSF and army concentration across communities throughout the state.
Both armed factions are contesting control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan provincial capital and a critical supply 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 declaration.
Local Citizens Detail Protection Issues
A resident of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, stated that the amount of RSF vehicles had grown considerably since the group's takeover of El Fasher.
"We discontinued traveling to our farms, afraid of fighting," the resident explained.
Another civilian, who requested anonymity for safety concerns, also indicated that "there has been a big increase in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid" over the last fourteen days.
World Concerns and Calls
A senior UN official expressed concerns last week about "widespread abuses" and "ethnic-based retaliations" by RSF in Bara.
The representative warned of patterns echoing those in Darfur, where RSF combatants have been accused of mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against non-Arab ethnic groups.
The religious leader on Sunday urged an quick cessation of hostilities and the opening of relief routes in Sudan, declaring that attacks on civilians and obstacles to humanitarian aid "are creating unacceptable suffering."
Sudan's diplomatic representative to Egypt on Sunday accused RSF of perpetrating war crimes in El Fasher and stated that the Sudanese government would not discuss with the paramilitary group.
The representative further called on the international community to designate the group as a terrorist group.