RSF commander threatens to invade Egypt

JUBA – A senior commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has issued a threat to attack Egypt, Sudan’s northern neighbor, if it supports the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the ongoing conflict.

Jalaha Rahma Mahdi, also known as General Jalaha, a former leader of the Al-Shujaan Movement, joined the RSF last September after fleeing jail for Libya in 2014.

He has been instrumental in the RSF’s advance in eastern central Sudan.

In a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, Jalaha warned unnamed Gulf and African countries against backing the SAF, explicitly naming Egypt and threatening a massive invasion if provoked.

“If you want to do it this way and this way, between us is the road, and we are many. If you kill one million, there are three million others who, if they come [to Egypt], you will regret,” he said.

“We are here and only waiting for orders from the commander in chief. If he ordered us, we would come,” he added.

Egypt, a powerful regional player with the strongest military in Africa, shares a border with Sudan.

Analysts consider an attack on Egypt by the RSF unlikely and likely to result in a decisive defeat for the paramilitary force.

There has been no official response from the Egyptian government.