Mustafa Nasr Aldin Tambour (; born 24 July 1982) is the leader of the

Sudan Liberation Movement The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army ( ''Ḥarakat Taḥrīr as-Sūdān''; abbreviated SLM, SLA, or SLM/A) is a Sudanese rebel group active in Darfur, Sudan. It was founded as the Darfur Liberation FrontFlint, Julie and De Waal, Alexander (20 ...

faction known as SLM-Tambour, which is involved in the conflict in Darfur, supporting the

Sudanese Armed Forces The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; ) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. The force strength has been estimated at personnel in 2011 (by IISS), 200,000 personnel before the current war in Sudan broke out in 2023 (by the CIA), and ...

(SAF) against the

Rapid Support Forces The Rapid Support Forces (RSF; ) is a paramilitary force formerly operated by the government of Sudan. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which previously fought on behalf of the Sudanese government. RSF ...

(RSF). Before the

2023 Sudan conflict 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

, he launched a community reconciliation initiative to stop the

war in Darfur The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, was a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army, Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equalit ...

Early life and education

Mustafa Nasr Aldin Tambour was born on 24 July 1982 in

Zalingei Zalingei or Zalinjay () is a town in Sudan, Western Sudan, and it is capital of Central Darfur state. As of 2009, it had an estimated population of 27,258. The town experiencing security instability since 2003. This is because of the rebels and ar ...

Central Darfur Central Darfur State () is a state in south-western Sudan, and one of five comprising the Darfur region. It was created in January 2012 as a result of the ongoing peace process for the wider Darfur region. The state capital is Zalingei. The sta ...

, Sudan. He studied law at the Neelain University in 2007.

Career

Tambour survived an assassination attempt on 2 September 2017 near Zalingei by a squad of seven individuals led by two officers with the rank of lieutenant, one of whom was a member of the Special Forces of the Security Police and the other from the

(RSF). In the attempt, his mother, brother, and sister were injured.

Split from SLM

The

(SLM) faction led by Tambour split in 2018 from the SLM led by

Abdul Wahid al Nur Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; , ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, meaning "the"). It ...

, which had been fighting in Darfur since 2003. Tambour's faction signed the 2020

Juba Peace Agreement Signed on October 3, 2020, the Juba Peace Agreement (also called the Juba Agreement) is a landmark concord between Sudan's transitional government and a handful of the country's rebel groups. Since Sudan gained its independence in 1956, the nation ...

in South Sudan and continued to make efforts to achieve security and stability in the country. On 12 June 2022, Tambour launched a community reconciliation initiative to stop the Darfur conflict, specifically in the states of

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

and

South Darfur South Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ǧanūb Dārfūr; Janob Darfor) is one of the States of Sudan, wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states that compose the Darfur, region of Darfur in western Sudan. Overview Prior to the creation of t ...

. The initiative aimed at reconciling all components and tribes of Darfur and resolving conflicts. On 3 February 2023, Tambour welcomed the visit of the Israeli delegation to Sudan. He also on 6 January 2023 affirmed that his forces are ready to engage in the security arrangements in preparation for their full integration into the

(SAF).

2023 Sudan conflict

During the

, Tambour's house in Riyadh, Khartoum was raided on 8 May 2023. On 17 July, the RSF assassinated one of his brothers, Motwakel, on the

Nyala The lowland nyala or simply nyala (''Tragelaphus angasii'') is a spiral-horned artiodactyl antelope native to Southern Africa. The species is part of the family Bovidae and the genus '' Tragelaphus'' (formerly placed in the genus ''Nyala''). It ...

-Zalingei road. On 31 July, the SLM-Tambour faction pledged its support to the SAF in their efforts against the RSF. During the siege of Zalingei, the capital of Central Darfur State, the SLM-Tambour inflicted casualties on the RSF paramilitary forces, killing 27 RSF, injuring 41, and capturing 14 militants.

References

{{Reflist 21st-century Sudanese politicians 1982 births Living people People from Central Darfur People of the Sudanese civil war (2023–present)