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According to the UNHCR, in excess of 60,000 people have left the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was captured by the militia Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.

Reports indicate summary killings and atrocities as RSF fighters took control of the city following an 18-month siege featuring food shortages and intense shelling.

The exodus of those escaping the conflict towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the last several days, according to United Nations refugee agency representative.

Survivors were telling terrible accounts of violence, featuring sexual violence, and the organization was struggling to find enough accommodation and nourishment for them.

All children was suffering from nutritional deficiencies, she noted.

Estimates suggest that more than 150,000 residents are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last stronghold in the western part of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has denied widespread claims that the killings in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and follow a trend of the Arab militia groups focusing on non-Arab communities.

However the paramilitary group has arrested one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in on-the-spot executions.

The group shared video depicting the militiaman's detention subsequent to confirmation that he was behind the execution of several non-combatants in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

Video sharing service has confirmed that it has removed the channel connected to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had operated the profile in his identity.

Sudan was plunged into a domestic fighting in April 2023 when a vicious contest for control began between its military and the RSF.

The conflict has caused a food crisis and claims of ethnic cleansing in the western Darfur region.

In excess of 150,000 people have been killed in the conflict across the country, and roughly 12 million have fled their dwellings in what the United Nations has described as the biggest global humanitarian crisis.

The seizure of el-Fasher solidifies the geographic split in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in dominance of the western region and much of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the military occupying the main city, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea.

The two warring rivals had been allies - coming to power together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an foreign-endorsed proposal to move towards democratic governance.