A top field commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in South Kordofan on Saturday, according to remarks made Sunday by Sudan’s defense minister.

Colonel Hussein Jabr Aldar was killed during a battle last week between government forces and rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), in the area of Daldako, east of South Kordofan’s capital of Kadugli.

Daldako is considered the SPLM-N’s second largest stronghold. Sources said shrapnel of a rocket-propelled grenade hit the commander’s vehicle, killing him and several soldiers.

Both the Defence Ministry and the SPLM-N, fighting under the banner of the Sudan Revolutionary Front, have claimed victory in the battle.

File photo: SPLM-N combatants in Blue Nile State (Radio Tamazuj)