Chad Army Arrests Prominent Militia Leader on the Border

The Chadian army has arrested a senior commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, Major General Issam Fidail, during a special security operation carried out along the border strip adjacent to Sudan’s Darfur region, according to Al-Onwan 24 TV.

The arrest has dispelled months of uncertainty surrounding the fate of the senior military commander, after earlier reports circulated indicating that the militia leadership had detained him and placed him under house arrest in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.

Multiple sources indicated that Fidail’s arrest on the Chadian border came after strong indications and widespread speculation about his intention to defect and his imminent surrender to the Sudanese Armed Forces. This prompted the militia to restrict his movements and place him under house arrest, before he managed to escape and reach the shared border area.

These rapidly developing field events reflect deep internal fractures within the senior leadership ranks of the RSF militia, at a time when border areas are witnessing heightened security and military alertness by Chadian authorities to secure and control their frontiers.