Zalingei — A senior officer in the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) was killed by unidentified gunmen in the El Shawayat market, east of the Central Darfur capital of Zalingei, on Thursday evening. The victim, identified as Lt Col Ahmed Mohamed Ali Bakhit, was the head of Operations of the 21st Zalingei Division. The gunmen fled with the officer's four-wheel drive vehicle. This is the second incident on its kind in a week.

Sudan's Vice Chairman of the Sovereignty Council and Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan 'Hemeti' paid his respects to the late officer, and reportedly extended his condolences the following day in Omdurman.

As reported by Radio Dabanga last week, in a similar attack on an officer in the SAF, Col Abdelazim Eisa Mustafa was shot dead in the South Darfur capital of Nyala on April 2. According to initial reports, a group of gunmen accosted Mustafa and then attempted to rob him of his vehicle. Despite being shot in the left hand, Mustafa reportedly resisted the armed assailants, but later succumbed to his wounds.

Sudan's chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and Commander of Sudan's Armed Forces Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan also offered condolences to the families of the two slain officers. According to El Burhan, joint forces in Nyala and Zalingei are reportedly working tirelessly to bring the alleged perpetrators to justice.