SAF soldiers who fled to South Sudan return to West Kordofan

AWEIL – Soldiers from the 92^nd Brigade of the 22^nd Infantry Division of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) who fled to South Sudan after being overrun by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been transported back to Sudan, an army officer said.

Lt. Col. Alberto Bol, head of Moral Orientation for the 3^rd Infantry Division of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, told Sudans Post on Thursday that more than 300 SAF troops who had fled to Aweil East County were transported to Juba.

He said the soldiers were handed over to the Sudanese embassy in the South Sudanese capital and later flown back to Sudan.

“We received our neighbors’ army, the SAF,” Lt. Col. Alberto said during a training on child rights violations in Aweil last week. “They weren’t transported back by road to Meiram. We just received them [here in Northern Bahr el Ghazal], took them to Juba, and Juba facilitated their return back to their country.”

Separately, a Sudanese trader told Sudans Post that his brother, among the soldiers who fled to Northern Bahr el Ghazal, confirmed that most troops had been redeployed to combat zones, with exceptions for those wounded.

“As I speak to you, they have been taken to Heglig to help protect that small area from RSF attacks, which have become imminent since the capture of El Fula and Muglad. The wounded have been taken to White Nile State,” he said.

The soldiers initially fled to Majok Yithiou in Aweil East County in July after the RSF captured Meiram, where the 92nd Brigade was based. At the time, the RSF expanded eastward, capturing the 91st Brigade headquarters in El Fula, the state capital.

The SAF, weakened by the ongoing conflict, now retains control over only a few strongholds, including the 22^nd Infantry Division headquarters in Babanusa, the 90^th Brigade in Heglig, and Al-Nahud, which is guarded by the 81^st Brigade of the 5^th Infantry Division in North Kordofan.