On Saturday, websites affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) mourned the death of one of their prominent military commanders, who was killed during ongoing clashes with the Sudanese army in Sennar, southeastern Sudan. However, there has been no official confirmation from the RSF’s verified account on the platform “X.”
Initial information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat indicates that the RSF commander in the Blue Nile sector, Abdul Rahman Al-Bishi, was possibly killed in early morning airstrikes by the Sudanese army on advancing RSF forces towards Sennar.
Al-Bishi hailed from the “Rufa’a” tribe in the Blue Nile state, which extends significantly into central Sudan.
Al-Bishi led the forces that captured the headquarters of the “17th Infantry Division” in Sennar’s capital city, Singa, after the army withdrew without a fight.
Prior to this, he had seized the strategic area of Jebel Moya, a crucial junction for three key states in south-central Sudan.
A senior RSF commander confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat the death of Abdul Rahman Al-Bishi but refrained from providing further details.
Al-Bishi is the second prominent RSF leader to be killed in battles against the army, following the death of Central Darfur commander General Ali Yaqoub Jibril in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
Al-Bishi managed to lead his forces out of the Blue Nile state three weeks after the outbreak of war in April last year, joining the RSF in the capital, Khartoum.
According to senior RSF military sources, Al-Bishi participated in many battles that paved the way for the full control of Khartoum before moving to secure forces that took over Gezira state (central Sudan).
His last public appearance was in video recordings alongside Major General Abu Aqla Kikil, commander of the First Division in Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira state, following the RSF’s takeover of the main army garrison in Singa.
On Thursday, the RSF launched an attack on Sennar, in the far southeast of the country, but were repelled by the Sudanese army, which had consolidated its forces after withdrawing from Singa and Jebel Moya. The RSF aims to fully control Sennar state by capturing the city of Sennar.
Last week, the RSF announced the recapture of Dinder, one of the largest cities in Sennar state, following a failed assault by a joint force of armed factions from the Darfur region, which had come to support the Sudanese army in reclaiming the city.
