Rebels report ‘RSF militia mutiny’ in Sudan’s South Kordofan

Troops of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia stationed at the Talodi military garrison in South Kordofan have reportedly mutinied against the Sudanese army.

After rebel fighters of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) defeated government troops in recent battles in the Nuba Mountains, the RSF militiamen stationed at Talodi garrison stood up against their military colleagues, Yasir Arman, SPLM-N Secretary-General ,told Dabanga on Wednesday.

The Minister of Defence, Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, and the director of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), Mohamed Atta, went to Talodi to convince the mutineers to return to the garrison, Arman said. “The militiamen, however, left towards Darfur from where they were recruited, in more than 150 vehicles.”

The SPLM-N secretary-general furthermore told Dabanga that the rebel forces are besieging the main garrisons in the Nuba Mountains, those at Talodi, and the South Kordofan state capital of Kadugli.

“The Khartoum regime dispatched about 10,000 army and RSF militia forces to the Nuba Mountains, more than 500 vehicles loaded with weapons and ammunition, as well as T-55 and T-72 tanks for its second dry season offensive, meant to definitely clear the region of rebels,” he said.

“Yet, they suffered strategic defeats. The SPLM-N seized more than 100 Dushka machine-guns, a T-72 tank, and dozens of vehicles.”

The SPLM-N reported earlier this month that their combatants destroyed three large military and paramilitary convoys near Talodi and Kadugli. On 15 January, the rebel spokesman announced that they destroyed a contingent of government forces east of Kadugli.

The Sudanese army is fighting SPLM-N rebels in South Kordofan since early June 2011. After Nuba army forces refused to fight “against their brothers” in South Kordofan, the Sudanese army began its bombardments and ground attacks on the region.

A framework agreement, signed by SPLM-N Chairman Malik Agar, and Assistant to the then President Nafee Ali Nafee on 28 June that year, was pushed from the table by President Al Bashir a few days later.

The SPLM-N has managed to maintain control of the southern part of the Nuba Mountains, and claims it is nearly encircling the government-controlled capital of Kadugli.