Catholic Humanitarian Entity in Sudan Appeals for Protection of Civilians Fleeing “abominable atrocities” in El Fasher

The Catholic organization is one of the humanitarian agencies that are reaching out to existing refugees in Tawila, and welcoming new ones that have been arriving since October 23 when El Fasher fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a militia group that has been fighting for the control of Sudan which since 15 April 2023, when civil war broke out.

The Catholic official shared with ACI Africa a report that was labelled “sensitive”, detailing testimonies of survivors who had arrived from El Fasher, a town that had an approximated 250,000 civilian IDPs before the start of killings and maiming on October 23.

The report indicates that by the evening of October 28, at least 929 IDP households, amounting to just under 5,000 individuals arrived in Tawila from El Fasher, most in severe distress.

“Many were sick, starving, and extremely weak after escaping many months of siege. Some had visible injuries,” the report shared with ACI Africa reads in part, adding that the survivors spoke to the Catholic aid agency of mass detention, killing, beating, and torture.

“Families reported travelling on foot and mostly at night,” the Catholic entity writes, and adds, “Along the way, they witnessed numerous dead bodies scattered along the route and wounded individuals crying for help.”

The charity foundation gives the testimony of a man arriving from El Fasher who shared that he had been detained for a week before managing to escape.  The man, the Catholic organization says, described scenes where RSF soldiers and “armed men on camels gathered groups of civilians and executed them.”

Those fleeing El Fasher faced three main outcomes: being killed, wounded, or detained, the charity foundation said, and added, “Only a few managed to escape and reach Tawila, while others are still attempting to arrive.” 

The Catholic humanitarian and development organization raised concern that only a few IDPs were managing to escape the torture and killing in El Fasher.

It gathered local reports that on the morning of October 29, zero new IDP arrivals were registered overnight or in the early morning.

This, the Catholic charity found disturbing given that Tawila is the only town within walking distance of El Fasher which is not under the control of RSF or its allies.

“With an estimated 250,000 civilians remaining in El Fasher when it fell to RSF, the low number of IDPs arriving safely in Tawila is highly alarming and suggests significant barriers to escape,” the Catholic entity said.  

The entity quoted reports that 36,183 individuals were displaced from El Fasher between  October 26-29, the majority arriving in Tawila, and says that the figures are “preliminary and unconfirmed” and represent only approximately 15 percent of El Fasher’s remaining population.  

The entity also gathered individual IDPs reaching Tawila who said that RSF is preventing many people in El Fasher from leaving the city.

It gathered reports that large groups of people who managed to reach Gurni en route to Tawila were stopped and forced to return.

According to the Catholic entity, families continue to be separated, with some members arriving in Tawila while others are kept behind and killed.

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“Existing IDPs in Tawila are coming to the reception area searching for missing relatives, expressing fear they will never arrive,” the agency says.

Meanwhile, the Catholic development entity has appealed to the international community to “urgently” exert concerted diplomatic pressure on parties to the conflict and their sponsors to ensure the protection of civilians in El Fasher and prevent the commission of atrocities. 

The entity has also appealed for the scaling up of United Nations senior staff presence and humanitarian assistance in North Darfur at “a level proportionate to the crisis.”

The Catholic entity has further appealed to the international community to rapidly scale up flexible funding to increase support to IDPs in Tawila and surrounding areas.