🔗 Share this article At least 36,000 Sudanese have fled following takeover of El Fasher to paramilitary group, states UN agency Over 36,000 individuals have escaped Sudan's Kordofan area east of Darfur since Saturday, as stated by the UN's migration agency. The important central zone connecting the country's Darfur regions and the capital region has over recent weeks become the recent fighting area in the 24-month civil conflict between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary forces. Massive Displacement Statistics An approximated 36,825 people evacuated from five districts in North Kordofan province between 26 October and 31 October, per data from the International Organization for Migration. The people, mainly traveling by foot, moved toward Tawila, a town west of El Fasher that is currently housing more than 652,000 refugees. Increased Military Presence Residents of North Kordofan on Monday noted a significant increase in both RSF and army deployment across towns and villages throughout the state. Both forces are contesting control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan regional capital and a key logistics and command center that connects Darfur to Khartoum. "Today, all our forces have assembled at the Bara front here," stated an RSF member in a recently distributed video message. Area Inhabitants Describe Protection Issues A area citizen of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, stated that the number of RSF vehicles had risen substantially since the group's seizure of El Fasher. "We stopped going to our farms, concerned about confrontations," the local stated. Another resident, who asked to remain unnamed for security reasons, also indicated that "there has been a big increase in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid" over the previous fortnight. International Warnings and Appeals A senior UN official sounded warnings last week about "extensive crimes" and "ethnically motivated reprisals" by RSF in Bara. The diplomat alerted to patterns echoing those in Darfur, where RSF militants have been charged with mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against certain racial groups. The religious leader on Sunday appealed for an prompt truce and the establishment of humanitarian corridors in Sudan, stating that attacks on civilians and impediments to humanitarian aid "are creating unacceptable suffering." Sudan's diplomatic representative to Egypt on Sunday accused RSF of committing war crimes in El Fasher and declared that the Sudanese government would not negotiate with the paramilitary group. The representative further called on the world nations to categorize the group as a terrorist organisation.