Sudan reports the death of a top paramilitary strongman allied to General Hamdan Daglo, popularly known as Hemedti, as the latest high-profile casualty on Friday morning. General Ali Yacoub Gibril was Rapid Support Forces operation leader in charge of el-Fasher; he died amidst fighting around this city.
For the past month now, these paramilitaries have laid siege to the capital of North Darfur as they bid to take over from the conventional army. The Sudanese military announced that General Ali Yacoub Gibril was killed as his forces attempted to force their way through defenses south of el-Fasher. Within minutes, a picture of the body of the general, surrounded by soldiers, was making rounds in social media.
One-time militia chief of the tribes before joining the paramilitaries, Ali Yacoub Gibril commanded not just operations in el-Fasher but also oversaw operations in Zalingei, which came under his control months ago.
He had been charged with leading the massacre of Fur ethnic civilians in the central Darfur capital. He was sanctioned in May 2024 by the US Treasury for his role in the Darfur conflicts.
The Sudanese army said the assault left 17 paramilitary fighters captured Friday morning.