Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it carried out a “special operation” on Wednesday that destroyed the so-called “Elite Brigade,” describing it as a key Islamist-aligned formation made up of militants from groups including the Baraa Battalions and “Lightning Bolt.”
In a statement, the RSF said “hundreds” of brigade members were killed, including senior commanders it labelled extremists. It called the attack a major blow to what it described as an Islamist project inside the military.
The RSF accused SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of backing such formations, calling him the “de facto leader” of Islamists in the military despite his public statements to the contrary.
The Sudanese group also alleged that some allied formations had recruited children and pushed them into combat, in violation of international humanitarian law.
War between the General al-Burhan’s SAF and the RSF since April 2023 has devastated Khartoum and parts of Darfur and Kordofan, killed thousands and displaced millions.
