Sudanese army officer implicated in fall of Wad Madani to RSF

November 10, 2024 (KHARTOUM) – A Sudanese army officer helped the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seize the city of Wad Madani last December, a high-ranking military source said on Sunday, confirming allegations by a former RSF commander.

Lieutenant Colonel Mahmoud Al-Numan withdrew troops from a key bridge, allowing the RSF to enter Wad Madani on December 18, 2023, said the military source. This corroborates a recent account by Abu Aqla Kikal, a former RSF commander in Al Jazirah state who decided to join the army.

“Al-Numan caused the RSF to take control of the strategic Al-Halfaya Bridge,” the source said, confirming Kikal’s accusations.

Before Wad Madani, he withdrew with the battalion he commands to the Al-Kadru area without receiving any orders.” The source added that an army intelligence officer reported the unauthorized previous withdrawal, but no action was taken. Al-Numan later left Khartoum with official permission and joined the army’s military intelligence branch in Wad Madani.

A senior military intelligence official told Sudan Tribune that a warning about Al-Numan had been sent to the military intelligence branch in Wad Madani. Sudan Tribune obtained a copy of a confidential correspondence from military intelligence in Khartoum warning about Al-Numan.

The First Division commander, Major General Ahmed Al-Tayeb, and six other officers were referred to a military court in May 2024. Their trial has been postponed indefinitely.

Al-Numan has since joined the RSF’s intelligence service.

This incident occurred as the army commander chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, struggled to reorganize his forces from Port Sudan. At the same time, other senior officers were besieged at the army headquarters in Khartoum.