Sudan army division deputy killed in RSF ambush, military sources say

December 2, 2025 (BABANUSA) – The deputy commander of Sudan’s 22nd Infantry Division and the head of its 170th Artillery Brigade were killed in a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ambush during a retreat from the West Kordofan town of Babanusa, military sources told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.

Major-General Abdelmajid al-Haj and artillery brigade commander Brigadier-General [name not given] died when their convoy was attacked while pulling back toward the Heglig oilfield area on the South Sudan border, the sources said. Division commander Major-General Moawiya Mohamed Hamad reached Heglig with the remainder of the force, they added.

The RSF said on Monday it had overrun the 22nd Division’s headquarters after days of heavy fighting. Army spokesman denied the base had fallen but accused the RSF of violating a unilateral ceasefire declared by its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, on November 24.

The military spokesman stressed that the RSF attack on Babanusa was “strongly and decisively thwarted.”

He dismissed the ceasefire announced by the RSF Commander as a political manoeuvre to mask field movements and the “continuous flow of Emirati support.” He added that despite the unilateral truce, the RSF continues to shell Babanusa daily with artillery and drones.

The SAF statement stressed its commitment to international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians, vowing to prevent the humanitarian situation from being exploited as cover for military action.

Babanusa is a key economic city in western Sudan, known for the Babanusa Dairy Factory and as a major railway network junction connecting the country’s regions.