Shaken, scratched and left with just the clothes he is wearing, Ezzeldin Hassan Musa describes the brutality of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the wake of the paramilitary group taking control of el-Fasher city in the Darfur region.
He says its fighters tortured and murdered men trying to flee.
Now in the town of Tawila, lying exhausted on a mat under a gazebo, Ezzeldin is one of several thousand people who have made it to relative safety after escaping what the UN has described as horrific violence.
On Wednesday, RSF leader Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo admitted to violations in el-Fasher and said they would be investigated. A day later a senior UN official said the RSF had given notice that they had arrested some suspects.
About an 80km (50-mile) journey from el-Fasher, Tawila is one of several places where those lucky enough to escape the RSF fighters are fleeing to.
We left el-Fasher four days ago. The suffering we encountered on the way was unimaginable, Ezzeldin says.
We were divided into groups and beaten. The scenes were extremely brutal. We saw people murdered in front of us. We saw people being beaten. It was really terrible.
I myself was hit on the head, back, and legs. They beat me with sticks. They wanted to execute us completely. But when the opportunity arose, we ran, while others in front were detained.
Ezzeldin is among about 5,000 people thought to have arrived in Tawila since the fall of el-Fasher. Those in Tawila told the BBC that men making the journey were particularly likely to be subjected to scrutiny by the RSF, with fighters targeting anyone suspected of being a soldier.
Survivors like Ahmed Ismail Ibrahim, whose body is bandaged in several places, recount past encounters with RSF fighters. Four of them - they killed them in front of us. Beat them and killed them, he says. He was shot three times, but his brothers stayed by his side until they found safety.
For many in Tawila, the trauma is compounded by the injury and loss of family members during their escape. Women's accounts are particularly heartbreaking; Yusra Ibrahim Mohamed fled after her husband, a soldier, was killed during the ongoing conflict.
Both medical and humanitarian agencies express urgent need for assistance as they care for those impacted by conflict. Hundreds of thousands have fled previous violence, creating a dire situation for the newcomers in Tawila.
For Ezzeldin, relief at reaching safety is felt alongside urgent concern for those left behind in El-Fasher. My message is that public roads should be secured for citizens, he urges, illustrating the critical conditions many are still facing as violence persists in Sudan.
