Witnesses reported that since last week, an increasing number of Sudanese residents fleeing El Geneina, a city in Darfur battered by repeated militia attacks, have been slain or shot at as they attempted to evacuate by foot to Chad.
According to witnesses and activists, the violence in El Geneina has been driven by militias from Arab nomadic tribes and members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a military faction involved in a power struggle with Sudan's army in Khartoum.
On June 14, many people attempted to seek refuge near the army headquarters in El Geneina but were turned back. Reuters spoke with three witnesses who were shot as they attempted to depart El Geneina and more than a dozen witnesses who said they saw violence on the way out of town.
According to MSF, around 15,000 individuals evacuated West Darfur in the preceding four days, and several arrivals recounted seeing people shot and murdered as they attempted to flee El Geneina. MSF also reported rapes.
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According to Ibrahim, many decided to evacuate after the state governor of West Darfur was assassinated on June 14, hours after accusing the RSF and affiliated militias of "genocide" in a TV interview.
Ibrahim later discovered that eight of his family members, including his grandmother, had been killed, and his mother had been beaten.
UN estimates that the April battle displaced more than 2.5 million people, primarily from the capital and Darfur, which had already seen two decades of fighting and huge displacement. Nearly 600,000 people have gone to neighbouring nations, with more than 155,000 fleeing Darfur for Chad.
A 72-hour ceasefire arranged by Saudi Arabia and the United States is set to expire early Wednesday morning, bringing calm in combat in Khartoum. However, locals report looting has spread, and the army says the RSF started a massive fire at the intelligence offices late Tuesday.
The RSF claimed responsibility for the attack on the building, which is located near the defence ministry, army headquarters, and airport, all claimed by both sides.
