Sudan's Joint Force says operations commander killed in North Kordofan state

Sudan's Joint Force, an armed coalition fighting alongside the national army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), announced Tuesday that one of its operations commanders had been killed in North Kordofan state.

Citing the force, Sudan News Agency reported that Brig. Gen. Haroun Mursal Abu Tikka was killed in the Umm Shaeira area.

The force noted that he had taken part in several battles and military fronts, including in Khartoum and North Kordofan, but provided no further details about the circumstances or timing of his death.

The Joint Force comprises armed movements that signed a peace agreement with the government in Khartoum in October 2020. It has been fighting alongside the Sudanese army against the RSF.

Its main components include the Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Minni Arko Minnawi, and the Justice and Equality Movement, headed by Jibril Ibrahim.

Since Oct. 25, clashes between the army and the RSF have been ongoing in the three states of the Kordofan region — North, West, and South Kordofan.

Sudan has been engulfed in a war between the army and the RSF since April 2023. The conflict has killed thousands and displaced around 13 million people, according to UN and international estimates.