Over 36,000 Sudanese citizens have evacuated after takeover of El Fasher to Rapid Support Forces, says UN agency

In excess of 36,000 people have fled Sudan's Kordofan region east of Darfur beginning Saturday, as stated by the UN's migration agency.

The important central zone connecting the country's Darfur provinces and the Khartoum-Riverine area has during recent weeks become the latest battleground in the extended civil war between the Sudanese armed forces and the militia group.

Significant Displacement Numbers

An estimated 36,825 people escaped five districts in North Kordofan state between 26 October and 31 October, according to the International Organization for Migration.

The people, primarily walking, traveled to Tawila, a town western side of El Fasher that is currently sheltering over 652,000 evacuated individuals.

Escalated Forces Deployment

Local inhabitants of North Kordofan on Monday described a significant increase in both RSF and army deployment across urban and rural areas throughout the state.

Both military groups are competing for control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan regional capital and a key logistics and command base that links Darfur to Khartoum.

"Today, all our forces have gathered at the Bara front here," stated an RSF member in a recently distributed video declaration.

Regional Inhabitants Report Protection Issues

A resident of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, stated that the amount of RSF vehicles had grown significantly since the group's takeover of El Fasher.

"We discontinued traveling to our farms, afraid of fighting," the resident stated.

Another inhabitant, 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 previous fortnight.

World Alarms and Requests

A senior UN official raised the alarm last week about "extensive crimes" and "ethnic-based retaliations" by RSF in Bara.

The official warned of patterns similar to those in Darfur, where RSF fighters have been accused of mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against specific ethnic communities.

The spiritual head on Sunday appealed for an quick cessation of hostilities and the opening of aid passageways in Sudan, declaring that attacks on civilians and hindrances to humanitarian aid "are creating unacceptable suffering."

Sudan's ambassador to Egypt on Sunday alleged RSF of committing war crimes in El Fasher and declared that the Sudanese government would not engage with the paramilitary group.

The ambassador further urged the international community to classify the group as a terrorist entity.