The Killing of Militia Leaders: What’s Behind the Surprise Operations?
Sudan Events – Agencies
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in Sudan has suffered severe blows in recent weeks, with several of its field commanders—key figures since the conflict with the Sudanese army began in April 2023—being eliminated.
The army has recently neutralized more than six RSF leaders, including Mahdi Rahma, known as “Jalha,” Major General Abdullah Hussein, Brigadier General Al-Taher Jah Allah, field commander Salim Al-Rashidi, and field commander Abdul Rahman Qarn Shatta.
Several other key RSF leaders were killed earlier, including Major Abdul Rahman Al-Bishi, a highly influential RSF commander, Ali Yaqoub, who was tasked with controlling Al-Fasher, and Major General Issa Al-Dhaif.
Frontline Leadership Losses
At the beginning of the war in mid-April 2023, the RSF nearly lost its frontline leadership, with around ten key figures killed. On the third day of the conflict, the Sudanese army eliminated Major General Madawi Hussein Di Al-Noor, one of the top aides to RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti.”
According to a field source who spoke to Al Jazeera Net, the Sudanese army managed to neutralize Di Al-Noor in the Jabra area of southern Khartoum. Di Al-Noor had previously served as RSF intelligence director and commander of the eastern sector. He was also one of the RSF’s founding members.
The army also managed to kill Major Musa Qarh, commander of the RSF’s special task force, in the Shambat area, according to a military source. Qarh was one of Hemedti’s most trusted commanders, leading an elite RSF unit. The army successfully eliminated him early on, along with several of his key supporters.
Later, the army also killed Major Abdul Rahman Al-Bishi in an airstrike while he was in Taybah Al-Luhwain in Sennar state, southeast Sudan.
Al-Bishi played a significant role in RSF’s control over Al-Jazira state and successfully took over the Sudanese army’s 17th Infantry Division headquarters in Sennar. He extended his forces towards Damazin, in southern Sudan, and maintained close ties with Hemedti.
In western Sudan, the army and allied forces managed to neutralize one of RSF’s most prominent field commanders, Major General Ali Yaqoub Jibril, who led RSF forces in Central Darfur.
Jibril had previously taken control of the army’s 21st Infantry Division in Zalingei, Central Darfur, and was later tasked with capturing the army’s 6th Infantry Division in Al-Fasher. However, he was ultimately killed by a sniper from the same division in Al-Fasher.
Defeats and Internal Betrayals
The targeting of RSF commanders has intensified recently, with multiple field leaders eliminated in Al-Jazira and Khartoum states.
In the past two weeks alone, RSF has confirmed the deaths of several key commanders, including Mahdi Rahma “Jalha,” who previously led mercenary forces in Libya before returning to Sudan to join RSF under Hemedti’s “Rapid Intervention” forces.
Jalha’s killing was followed by the death of Brigadier General Al-Taher Jah Allah, RSF’s deputy commander in Al-Jazira, along with three other commanders. On Sunday, Major General Abdullah Hussein, an RSF field commander in Al-Jazira, was killed. Hussein had previously taken control of the Central Reserve Forces headquarters, which supported the army in southern Khartoum, and led fierce attacks against the Armored Corps in August 2023.
Following these rapid eliminations, widespread accusations have emerged suggesting that the killings may have been orchestrated from within RSF itself. Sudanese army field commander Colonel Khalid Mikael told Al Jazeera Net that RSF operates as a “militia lacking discipline and structure, without clear goals or a professional military ethos.”
Mikael suggested that RSF commanders may have been assassinated by their own troops due to a lack of loyalty and internal discipline. He argued that RSF fighters “do not follow clear military orders from their leaders.”
Similarly, political analyst and strategic expert Osama Eidros told Al Jazeera Net that RSF’s mounting defeats may have led its leadership to eliminate certain commanders, accusing them of being responsible for failures or of collaborating with the army.
Eidros also pointed to another possible motive: internal power struggles over looted wealth, including large quantities of gold and foreign currency seized by RSF leaders.
A Coordinated Effort?
Some analysts believe the recent wave of RSF leader assassinations is the result of a coordinated effort between the Sudanese army and insiders within RSF.
A senior army officer, speaking to Al Jazeera Net on condition of anonymity, claimed that the recent killings were the outcome of “precise intelligence operations by the army, which provided information on the movements of RSF commanders before targeting them with advanced drone strikes.”
He added that RSF is suffering from internal divisions at its highest levels, particularly between Hemedti and his brother “Al-Qoni” on one side, and their half-brother Abdul Rahim Dagalo on the other.
The army officer suggested that these internal RSF conflicts have contributed to the deaths of several field commanders, as factions within RSF may have provided intelligence to the army to eliminate commanders loyal to Hemedti and those opposing Abdul Rahim Dagalo.
Battlefield Gains
Analysts argue that the elimination of key RSF field commanders benefits the Sudanese army, as those killed were highly influential and held significant power within RSF ranks.
Colonel Mikael told Al Jazeera Net that these assassinations serve the army’s interests on the battlefield, stating, “The high rate of assassinations among RSF mercenaries will ultimately benefit the army militarily.”
Strategic expert Eidros added that the recent assassinations leave RSF with only three options: fleeing, surrendering, or dying.
Source: Al Jazeera Net
