British political ambitions and the recruitment of soldiers. He brought six companies from Eastern Sudan and suppressed the Sennar rebellion. He dismissed the officials who had not cooperated. Then he himself marched with an army to quell the rebellion in all regions, until he received orders from Cairo to return. The British, however, did not want to suppress the rebellion; rather, they wanted to intensify it. They appointed Alaa El Din Pasha to succeed him, as Abd El Qader Pasha desired independence for Sudan. One of the first actions the British took upon entering Cairo was to gather six thousand men and appoint Hicks Pasha as commander of the army in Kordofan. They appointed Slatin Pasha as governor and Hicks Pasha as Chief of Staff. Alaa El Din Pasha arrived in Khartoum in February 1884. They appointed Slatin Pasha as governor and Hicks Pasha as Chief of Staff. When Abd El Qader Pasha arrived in Egypt, he urged the government to allow the army to remain in the White Nile region so that the rebellion would not spread to Sennar, and to leave the people of Kordofan to their fate, as it would fall on its own. He then equipped Hicks Pasha with a large army for Kordofan, consisting of 100 infantry, 1000 regular cavalry, 1000 volunteer cavalry, 2000 followers, 1000 camels, 10,000 porters, 5,000 horses, 100 men, 10 mountain guns, 4 Krupp guns, and 9 Nordenfeldts. This army marched and lost its way. The Dervishes surrounded Hicks' camp, who had entered a valley full of thorns and thickets seeking water, as thirst was afflicting the soldiers. The men of Ahmed attacked them from all sides, killing 300 soldiers and taking 300 prisoners. Only two officers and 100 men escaped. At that point, Colonel Stewart sent a report to his government stating that the time had come to evacuate Sudan, and they ordered Tewfik Pasha to do so, but he did not agree.