Khartoum: More than 150 Sudanese women were subjected to rape and sexual harassment while fleeing the city of El-Fasher in North Darfur, a local civil group reported on Friday.

According to Anadolu Agency, Adam Regal, a spokesman for the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur, informed the Sudan Tribune that militants from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) pursued fleeing civilians along escape routes. They detained some individuals in the area of Qarni, where thousands remain trapped, including children separated from their families.

Regal highlighted that more than 1,300 people have been injured by gunfire, with over 1,210 children suffering from malnutrition, and 700 elderly individuals in critical health conditions. The number of survivors who managed to reach Tawila town, located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of El-Fasher, has exceeded 15,000. Many of these individuals are in poor health due to injuries and violence they experienced during their escape.

He appealed to international and humanitarian organizations for the provision of life-saving necessities such as medicine, food, safe water sources, shelter materials, sanitation facilities, psychological support, and safe spaces for children traumatized by the horrific scenes they witnessed.

Tawila, having already received thousands of displaced civilians in recent months, is now hosting more than 1 million internally displaced persons. Regal warned that the situation urgently requires humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs.

The RSF captured El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, on October 26, committing massacres against civilians, according to local and international organizations. There are warnings that this assault could further entrench the geographical partition of Sudan.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that more than 81,000 people have been displaced from El-Fasher and its surroundings since the RSF takeover. Since April 15, 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been engaged in a conflict that regional and international mediations have been unable to resolve. This ongoing war has resulted in the deaths of thousands and the displacement of millions.