The deputy commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Abdel Rahim Hamdan Daglo, threatened on Wednesday to invade two northern states after his paramilitary group suffered significant battlefield setbacks, according to a video statement.

The threat to attack the Northern State and River Nile State follows RSF losses in recent months to the Sudanese army and allied forces. Those forces pushed the RSF out of Sennar, Gezira, and White Nile states and most of the capital Khartoum, and broke an RSF siege on El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.

In the video, filmed at an undisclosed location in the western Darfur region, Daglo appeared surrounded by fighters chanting slogans signalling an attack on the Northern State. He spoke at the graduation of 20,000 fighters, as stated on RSF social media pages.

“We are coming for you in the Northern State and River Nile,” Daglo said. “We were mistaken… but now the battle is in the North.”

Daglo said 2,000 RSF vehicles were heading towards the Northern State through the desert.

Boasting of reserves, he questioned whether the RSF could be underestimated when it had fighters yet to be deployed, adding dismissively that his opponents “drowned in a puddle.”

He vowed to fight on alongside his brother, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, stating they would only be “finished” when their forces were.

The threat follows the RSF’s capture of al-Maliha town in North Darfur state, near the border with Northern State, in late March. The RSF briefly seized the airport in Merowe, Northern State, at the outset of the conflict in April 2023 before being pushed out by the army.

In the video, Daglo also ordered deserting RSF officers to report to the front lines within hours or face dismissal and prosecution. He accused some officers of staying home “with their mothers and sisters.”

He threatened anyone found selling weapons or ammunition with death and called for the killing of supporters of “Kizan” – a term for Islamists linked to Sudan’s former regime – and members of armed movements.

“Any Koz (single of Kizan) must be killed, any Fulangai (a derogatory term for opponents) must be killed,” he said, adding that arms dealers should also be killed.