Sources close to the commander of Sudan’s Shield Forces, Major General Abu Aqila Kikel, told Al Jazeera that an attempt to assassinate him failed at dawn on Tuesday after a drone strike targeted a location where he was present in East Nile, Khartoum state, carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Al Jazeera sources reported that Kikel had left the targeted site about an hour before the attack, which killed Sadiq Osman Al-Faki Omar and his son, prominent figures in the Ad Babiker area of East Nile, while two others were injured during the drone strike as they performed dawn prayers.
A leader in Sudan’s Shield Forces, Ammar Nayel, told Al Jazeera that they recognize “that the significant influence of Commander Abu Aqila Kikel in shifting the balance of the battle in favor of the Armed Forces made him the primary target for the RSF, as he understands their combat methods and has achieved unprecedented success in defeating them. Therefore, attempts to target him will not cease.”
He emphasized that RSF attempts would fail, adding, “Kikel is, by nature, a field commander who does not wish to stay behind his forces. He trusts in God and in his troops around him, and we have no doubt that there may be infiltrators within our ranks.”
