Revolutionary Forces Front leader killed in battle in W. Darfur

07/10/2010 10:16

Ibrahim Al Zubaidi, the head of the Revolutionary Forces Front, was killed along with three others in an ambush by government troops in Khor Ramla area in West Darfur. The ambush Tuesday night also resulted in the capture of the spokesman of the movement, Mohamed Ahmed. Al Zubaidi was 37 years old. He was a university graduate with a bachelor of commerce degree. In 2007 he founded the Revolutionary Forces Front, a faction of the rebellion recruited predominantly from Darfuri Arab tribes. Al Zubaidi was opposed to the Doha negotiations. His faction was also called the United Revolutionary Forces Front, or URFF. (The URFF or RFF should not be confused with the URF, a faction led by Bahr Abu Garda and loyal to Tigani Sese’s LJM). Musa Jadeen, the overall commander of the URFF, told Radio Dabanga that Al Zubaidi was on his way to one of the sites under control of the Front when he was caught in the ambush at Khor Ramla. A fierce clash resulted, he said. The URFF commander said that the killing of Al Zubaidi and his associates at the hands of the regime will not affect the forces of RFF but instead will make them stronger and more determined.Musa Jadeen disclosed that the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement last January captured him (Jadeen) in the Bahr El Ghazal region and handed him over to the government. He was transferred to Khartoum and detained for seven months. After that he was released and went to the field again. It’s not clear why he was released or under what conditions.CORRECTION- The initial version of this article stated that Al Zubaidi was detained in Khartoum for seven months. In fact it was not Zubaidi but Musa Judeen.Photo: The rebels pictured in the photo belong to the JEM, not the Revolutionary Forces Front (sudanjem.com)

Ibrahim Al Zubaidi, the head of the Revolutionary Forces Front, was killed along with three others in an ambush by government troops in Khor Ramla area in West Darfur. The ambush Tuesday night also resulted in the capture of the spokesman of the movement, Mohamed Ahmed.

Al Zubaidi was 37 years old. He was a university graduate with a bachelor of commerce degree. In 2007 he founded the Revolutionary Forces Front, a faction of the rebellion recruited predominantly from Darfuri Arab tribes.

Al Zubaidi was opposed to the Doha negotiations. His faction was also called the United Revolutionary Forces Front, or URFF. (The URFF or RFF should not be confused with the URF, a faction led by Bahr Abu Garda and loyal to Tigani Sese’s LJM).

Musa Jadeen, the overall commander of the URFF, told Radio Dabanga that Al Zubaidi was on his way to one of the sites under control of the Front when he was caught in the ambush at Khor Ramla. A fierce clash resulted, he said.

The URFF commander said that the killing of Al Zubaidi and his associates at the hands of the regime will not affect the forces of RFF but instead will make them stronger and more determined.

Musa Jadeen disclosed that the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement last January captured him (Jadeen) in the Bahr El Ghazal region and handed him over to the government. He was transferred to Khartoum and detained for seven months. After that he was released and went to the field again. It’s not clear why he was released or under what conditions.

CORRECTION- The initial version of this article stated that Al Zubaidi was detained in Khartoum for seven months. In fact it was not Zubaidi but Musa Judeen.

Photo: The rebels pictured in the photo belong to the JEM, not the Revolutionary Forces Front (sudanjem.com)