The Rapid Support Forces captured Mostariha in North Darfur, stronghold of military-allied tribal leader Musa Hilal, resulting in dozens killed and hundreds displaced amid escalating tribal tensions.
The Rapid Support Forces attacked Mostariha on Monday, the stronghold of Musa Hilal, leader of the Mahamid tribe and head of the military-allied Revolutionary Awakening Council. The assault followed weeks of escalating tensions between Hilal and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo and his brother and deputy Abdel Rahim.
Local and military sources reported dozens killed, including Hilal’s son Haidar, and hundreds displaced. Hilal fled the town and resurfaced on Wednesday at a gathering of Mahamid leaders in northwestern Darfur, preparing to retake Mostariha, according to a Mahamid source.
Anwar Ahmed Khater, head of the Mahamid coordination body, told Mada Masr that members of the Mahariya tribe—to which the Dagalo family belongs—carried out the assault alongside RSF units, framing it as a direct clash between the Mahariya’s Awlad Mansour clan and the Mahamid, both branches of the Rizeigat tribe.
The Revolutionary Awakening Council stated that the RSF killed 28 people, including children, with 167 missing. It described the assault as “genocide,” drawing parallels to a 2017 RSF attack. The RSF deployed 265 combat vehicles, supported by drones, burned homes, assaulted women, and looted properties.
Mohamed al-Mahy, Hilal’s media advisor, confirmed Hilal’s safety and warned of broader repercussions that could unify local communities against the RSF. The attack is viewed in the context of Hemedti’s fears over threats to his mobilization base among Darfur’s Arab tribes, potentially deepening intra-Arab divisions.