TENS of thousands of Sudanese civilians have fled to overcrowded camps to escape reported atrocities by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since the paramilitaries captured el-Fasher in the western Darfur region, an aid group said on Saturday.

Those who reach shelter in Tawila, about 43 miles from el-Fasher, find themselves stranded in a barren area with barely enough tents, many of them improvised from patched tarpaulins and sheets, according to a video posted by the Sudan’s Internally Displaced Persons and Refugee Camps group. 

It shows children running across the area as a few adults carry a large pot of food, hoping it will be enough to feed the growing crowds.

Since the RSF seized el-Fasher from the rival military on October 26, more than 16,200 people have fled to the camps in Tawila, said Adam Rojal, a spokesman for the aid group. 

The International Organisation for Migration estimates that around 82,000 people had fled the city and surrounding areas as of November 4, heading to safe spots including Tawila, an area already overcrowded with people displaced by previous attacks, with some making the journey on foot.

The RSF and the Sudanese army have been at war since April 2023. 

At least 40,000 people have been killed, according to the World Health Organisation, though the true toll might be many times higher. Some 12 million people have been displaced and nearly half the population faces acute food insecurity.

Last week, the RSF seized el-Fasher after an 18-month siege. The paramilitaries rampaged through the city’s Saudi Hospital, killing over 450 people, according to the WHO, and also went from house to house killing civilians and committing sexual assaults. 

The RSF has denied killing anyone at the hospital, but testimonies from those fleeing, online videos and satellite images offer an apocalyptic vision of the attack.