Major General Babiker Idriss, commander of the Transitional Council’s Eastern Region in General Abdel Fattah al Burhan’s army, was assassinated by an army colonel following a long-standing tribal dispute. Sources confirmed that Colonel Abdul Majeed, identified as the perpetrator, shot Idriss dead.
Idriss was from the Fur tribe, while his killer belonged to the Zaghawa. The attack, they said, reflected simmering ethnic divisions within Sudan’s fragmented military establishment. A source, speaking anonymously to local media, said the dispute between the two men was deeply rooted. Colonel Abdul Majeed had previously attempted to assassinate Idriss in Kassala, failing only by chance.
According to the source, resentment grew after General Idriss developed close ties with Burhan, head of SAF and Transitional Council. Burhan reportedly granted Idriss 10,000 army numbers, salaries, and substantial funds to integrate his loyal forces and recruit new fighters.
This favouritism, the source added, angered many within the Zaghawa community, who viewed it as both tribal discrimination and a breach of the Juba Peace Agreement. The agreement, signed to unify Sudan’s fractured armed movements, has increasingly faltered amid renewed conflict and mistrust.
The assassination underscores the fragility of Sudan’s security apparatus, where alliances shift between tribal loyalty and political ambition. It also exposes how unhealed grievances and unequal power-sharing continue to undermine the country’s fragile transition.
