A leaked video appearing to show Sudan Shield Forces commander Abu Aqla Keikal angrily speaking to a senior SAF officer has triggered fresh debate over tensions inside the coalition aligned with General al-Burhan’s army (SAF).
The clip, widely circulated by accounts linked to the RSF, shows Keikal in an agitated exchange with a man addressing him as “Your Excellency,” fuelling speculation that the footage points to friction between General al-Burhan’s SAF and the allied forces fighting alongside it.
According to the original report, local sources said the recording was not recent but dates back to late October 2024, just days after Keikal defected from the RSF and joined General al-Burhan’s SAF. Those accounts said the call took place around the fifth day after his defection, after complaints over delays in military supplies allegedly promised to his forces. Several Sudanese outlets repeated the same timeline and details, and a Facebook post carrying the same account also circulated online.
The report identified the officer in the call as Lt. Gen. Mohamed Abbas al-Labib, deputy director of Sudan’s intelligence service, and said Keikal was voicing anger over the delayed arrival of weapons and equipment. But no public statement from Sudanese military authorities was immediately available to confirm that claim.
The leak also resurfaces scrutiny around Keikal himself. His Sudan Shield Forces, now aligned with General al-Burhan’s SAF, were accused by Human Rights Watch in February 2025 of intentionally targeting civilians in Gezira state. The EU sanctioned him in July 2025, and the UK followed with sanctions in February 2026, citing his alleged role in serious abuses and threats to Sudan’s peace and stability.
Posts sharing the video framed it as evidence that Keikal was angry over abuses and neglect by forces allied with General al-Burhan’s SAF.
