Sudanese tribal leader Hilal arrives in Khartoum after RSF offensive

 March 5, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese tribal leader Musa Hilal arrived in Khartoum on Thursday, marking his first public appearance since surviving an assassination attempt and a major offensive by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in North Darfur.

Hilal, the chairman of the Revolutionary Awakening Council (RAC) and head of the Mahameed tribe, reached the capital following a complex military withdrawal from his stronghold in Misteriya. The RSF seized the area in late February after a sweeping ground assault and a drone strike that targeted Hilal’s guest house on February 22.

“The battle with the Rapid Support Forces has begun now,” Hilal said in his first public statement since the fall of Misteriya. He called the attack on his home region an act of “treachery” and said his forces would reorganize to restore stability and freedom to Sudan.

The tribal leader was received in Khartoum by the Darfur Governor, Minni Arko Minawi, and the RAC General Secretary, Abdel Rahman Hassan Saeed. Hilal thanked Minawi’s Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) for its role in securing his passage from Darfur to areas controlled by the Sudanese army outside the region.

Relations between Hilal and the RSF have been strained for months after he declared his support for the military. Tensions escalated further earlier this year when the RSF accused him of involvement in the death of one of its advisors, an allegation Hilal denied before a tribal committee.

Hilal has previously accused RSF deputy commander Abdelrahim Dagalo of seeking to dismantle the Mahameed tribe, further deepening the rift between the former allies.