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 It is likely that the forces there have withdrawn from the units.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."



Israel Says it Attacked Hezbollah's Intelligence HQ in Beirut

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, as seen from Hadath, Lebanon October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, as seen from Hadath, Lebanon October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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Israel Says it Attacked Hezbollah's Intelligence HQ in Beirut

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, as seen from Hadath, Lebanon October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, as seen from Hadath, Lebanon October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Israel carried out at least three air raids on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday after issuing evacuation orders.

Israel said its air force attacked Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters and an underground workshop for the production of weapons in Beirut.

In a statement, the Israeli military said its fighter jets killed three Hezbollah commanders, including Alhaj Abbas Salameh, a senior figure in the group's southern command, Radja Abbas Awache, a communications expert, and Ahmad Ali Hussein, who it said was responsible for strategic weapons development.
It was not clear if the three were killed in the attack on the headquarters or in separate actions.

A day earlier, Israel carried out heavy strikes on several locations in Beirut's southern suburbs, leaving thick plumes of smoke hanging over the city into the evening.

The strikes targeted "a number of Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and a Hezbollah intelligence headquarters command center,” Israel's military said.

Israel had issued evacuation orders for four separate neighborhoods within the suburbs, urging residents to get 500 meters away, but carried out strikes in other areas as well, witnesses said.

Tens of thousands of people have fled the southern suburbs - once a densely populated zone that also housed Hezbollah offices and underground installations - since Israel began regular strikes there about three weeks ago.

An Israeli air attack on Sept. 27 killed Hezbollah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, and strikes nearby have killed other top figures from the Iran-backed group.