On May 14, the Sudanese defense minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Mohammed Hussein said 93 of his soldiers and 13 policemen died in the battle, along with 30 civilians and more than 90 Justice and Equality Movement rebels.[3] He also said the rebels lost at least two-thirds of their vehicles, while the interior minister Ibrahim Mahmoud said the government forces destroyed more than 40 and seized about 17 vehicles.[2] Also on this day, JEM admitted defeat in the raid in which they said a third of all their fighters took part, but promised further attacks on the capital. The group's deputy chairman, Mahmoud Suleiman, said in a statement that it "might have lost the Khartoum battle and pulled out in dignity ... but it has not lost the war."[3]