CAIRO: Sudan’s army said on Sunday a commander from its foe the Rapid Support Forces had defected with some of his troops, the first such move by a senior figure since the two sides went to war more than 18 months ago.
Supporters of the army posted photos online purporting to show Abuagla Keikal — a former army officer who became the RSF’s top commander in the southeastern state of El Gezira — after he had defected.
The RSF later published a statement alleging that Keikal had switched sides after a “deal,” and saying that it had inflicted losses on the forces that defected with him in the east of El Gezira state, where Keikal is from.
The army, which has recently reported gains against the RSF in parts of the capital, said Keikal had decided to make the move because of the RSF’s “destructive agenda.”
There was no immediate comment from Keikal, who was a military intelligence officer before the war.
The RSF has seized control of large parts of Sudan in a conflict with the army that the United Nations says has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The war has displaced more than 10 million people, driven parts of the country to extreme hunger or famine, and drawn in foreign powers that have given both sides material support.
It began in April 2023 when tensions between the RSF and the army, who had been jostling for position ahead of an internationally backed transition to civilian rule, erupted into open conflict.
The army and the RSF had previously shared power after staging a coup in 2021, two years after veteran autocrat Omar Al-Bashir was toppled in a popular uprising.
Sudanese army reports first defection of a senior RSF commander
https://arab.news/bxejp
Sudanese army reports first defection of a senior RSF commander
- The army said Keikal had decided to make the move because of his former force’s “destructive agenda”
- There was no immediate comment from the RSF which has seized control of large parts of the country in a conflict with the military
US lawmakers press Israel to probe strike on reporters in Lebanon
- “The IDF has made no effort, none, to seriously investigate this incident,” Welch said
- Collins called for Washington to publicly acknowledge the attack in which an American citizen was injured
WASHINGTON: Several Democratic lawmakers called Thursday for the Israeli and US governments to fully investigate a deadly 2023 attack by the Israeli military on journalists in southern Lebanon.
The October 13, 2023 airstrike killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and wounded six other reporters, including two from AFP — video journalist Dylan Collins and photographer Christina Assi, who lost her leg.
“We expect the Israeli government to conduct an investigation that meets the international standards and to hold accountable those people who did this,” Senator Peter Welch told a news conference, with Collins by his side.
The lawmaker from Collins’s home state of Vermont said he had been pushing for answers for two years, first from the administration of Democratic president Joe Biden and now from the Republican White House of Donald Trump.
The Israeli government has “stonewalled at every single turn,” Welch added.
“With the Israeli government, we have been extremely patient, and we have done everything we reasonably can to obtain answers and accountability,” he said.
“The IDF has made no effort, none, to seriously investigate this incident,” Welch said, referring to the Israeli military, adding that it has told his office its investigation into the incident is closed.
Collins called for Washington to publicly acknowledge the attack in which an American citizen was injured.
“But I’d also like them to put pressure on their greatest ally in the Middle East, the Israeli government, to bring the perpetrators to account,” he said, echoing the lawmakers who called the attack a “war crime.”
“We’re not letting it go,” Vermont congresswoman Becca Balint said. “It doesn’t matter how long they stonewall us.”
AFP conducted an independent investigation which concluded that two Israeli 120mm tank shells were fired from the Jordeikh area in Israel.
The findings were corroborated by other international probes, including investigations conducted by Reuters, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders.
Unlike Welch’s assertion Thursday that the Israeli probe was over, the IDF told AFP in October that “findings regarding the event have not yet been concluded.”
