Rapid Support Forces Seize Army Base in Darfur

An image from a clip showing commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, speaking to his forces on Thursday (X)
An image from a clip showing commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, speaking to his forces on Thursday (X)
TT

Rapid Support Forces Seize Army Base in Darfur

An image from a clip showing commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, speaking to his forces on Thursday (X)
An image from a clip showing commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, speaking to his forces on Thursday (X)

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced capturing the command of the Sudanese Army’s 15th Division, marking its full control of West Darfur and its capital, less than a week after taking over the 16th Division in Nyala and 21st Division, Central Darfur State.

The RSF said it had “liberated the 15th Infantry Division of El-Geneina,” and announced that “the remnants and coup plotters in Western Darfur have been defeated.”

On October 29, the Forces took control of the headquarters of the 16th Division, one of the largest military bastions of the Sudanese army after Khartoum.

Two days later, they captured the “21st Division, its commander, 50 senior officers, and hundreds of soldiers.

The Support Forces did not reveal how they seized the 16th and 15th Divisions. It is likely that the forces there have withdrawn from the units.

RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo referred to the withdrawal earlier in his speech. But the army did not comment on the successive fall of its headquarters in Darfur.

However, the official spokesman for the Sudanese army, Brigadier General Nabil Abdullah, had downplayed on Wednesday the Rapid Support announcement of control of the army’s garrisons and divisions in Darfur.

Abdullah stressed that the armed forces "continue with strength and determination to carry out their sacred professional duty."



US Wants to See Israel Scale Back Some of Beirut Strikes as it Targets Hezbollah Stronghold

A cloud of smoke erupts following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on October 19, 2024. (AFP)
A cloud of smoke erupts following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on October 19, 2024. (AFP)
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US Wants to See Israel Scale Back Some of Beirut Strikes as it Targets Hezbollah Stronghold

A cloud of smoke erupts following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on October 19, 2024. (AFP)
A cloud of smoke erupts following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on October 19, 2024. (AFP)

The United States would like to see Israel scale back some of its strikes in and around the Lebanese capital of Beirut, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday.

"The number of civilian casualties have been far too high," he told reporters at a G7 defense gathering in the Italian city of Naples.  

"We’d like to see Israel scale back on some of the strikes it’s taking, especially in and around Beirut, and we’d like to see things transition to some sort of negotiation that will allow civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes."

Tens of thousands of people have fled Beirut's southern suburbs - once a densely populated zone that also housed Hezbollah offices and underground installations - since Israel began regularly targeting the zone approximately three weeks ago.

On Saturday afternoon, Israel carried out heavy strikes on several locations in the city's southern suburbs, leaving thick plumes of smoke wafting over the city horizon throughout the evening.

The strikes came as Hezbollah fired salvos of rockets at northern Israel, with one drone directed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's holiday home, his spokesman said.  

Austin added that he has raised issue about the security of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with Israeli counterpart.  

Israel informed him it has no intent to target the peacekeepers, who are deployed in the South.