Kikel’s joining the Sudanese army in Al-Jazira state and the Rapid Support confirm his defection news

Sudanese press sources revealed to Al Jazeera Net that Abu Aqla Muhammad Ahmed Kikel is one of the most prominent leaders Fast support In the state of Al-Jazira, he surrendered himself, along with his forces and vehicles, to the commander of the Butana region in the Sudanese army, Brigadier General Ahmed Shaa Al-Din.

A field military source in the Sudanese army confirmed that Major General Kikel had joined the Sudanese army in the areas of operations east of Al Jazeera State, indicating that the army had reached understandings with him, and confirmed that Major General Kikel would continue to fight alongside the Sudanese army. Meanwhile, accounts supporting the Sudanese army published pictures of the defected commander among the Sudanese army forces in a festive atmosphere.

For his part, an informed source in the Rapid Support Forces told Al Jazeera that the commander of the Fifth Division of his forces, Major General Abu Aqla Kikal, defected and surrendered to the Sudanese army.

The source added that the move did not surprise them.

Kikel – who leads the Sudan Shield forces – announced in early August last year his support and bias for the Rapid Support Forces, which have been fighting against the Sudanese army since mid-April last year.

Kickel announced in a video clip at the time his support for the Rapid Support “to support the fringes and fight the remnants of the former regime,” as he said, which raised questions about the size of his force, its capabilities, and its contribution to tipping the balance in favor of the “Rapid Support” on the ground.

The first appearance of the “Sudan Shield” commander was in mid-December 2022, when he organized a military parade for his forces in the “Ghur Mountains” area in the “Butana Plain” (central Sudan).

At the time, Sudan Shield displayed a force estimated at 35,000 soldiers, and said that it had thousands of supporters in many regions of Sudan, but its leaders, who appeared at the time in military uniform, declared that they were not in a state of hostility with anyone.