Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the killing of a senior commander in the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur, following an investigation by the movement’s forces in South Darfur, local Sudanese media reported on Thursday.
The arrests mark a significant development in the investigation into the death of Mohamed Bashar Noreen, who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Sunday at an artisanal gold mining site in West Keila, in the Malam locality of South Darfur.
Three sources familiar with the investigation told local Sudanese media that SLM fighters tracked down two alleged attackers on Monday and detained them in areas under the movement’s control in Jebel Marra.
A source within the movement said senior SLM officials subsequently held talks with representatives of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who travelled from Nyala to Malam to discuss the incident and efforts to apprehend the remaining suspects.
According to the source, the RSF denied that the detained men belonged to its forces, identifying them instead as members of a separate mobilised fighting group.
The RSF representatives reportedly pledged to help locate the remaining suspects and hand them over to the SLM for prosecution.
A second SLM source said one of the detained suspects had allegedly admitted participating in Noreen’s killing alongside five other individuals who fled the scene after the attack.
The reported confession has not been independently verified.
The source added that an RSF unit was participating in efforts to locate the fugitives, while both sides were working to reduce tensions in the area following the killing.
Noreen, 58, was among the founding members of Abdel Wahid al-Nur’s Sudan Liberation Movement, which emerged in the early 2000s.
He had served as a senior commander in East Jebel Marra and previously held responsibility for the movement’s mining sector.
The SLM confirmed his death in a statement issued on Monday, saying unidentified armed men were responsible.
The attack prompted anger among residents of Malam and surrounding communities, with local groups joining efforts to identify those responsible.
The arrests come amid continuing insecurity across Darfur, where armed robberies, killings and attacks by unidentified gunmen have complicated efforts by local authorities and armed groups to maintain security.
It remains unclear what motivated Noreen’s killing or whether the remaining suspects will be apprehended.
The reported arrests and discussions between the RSF and SLM were described by sources speaking to local Sudanese media, and no independently verified account of the suspects’ affiliations has been established.
