Hundreds of fighters, including commanders, defect from Sudan's RSF, army says

The Sudanese army has said that hundreds of members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), including commanders, have defected from the paramilitary group and joined its ranks.

In a statement issued late Tuesday, the Al-Dabba locality (located in Sudan’s Northern State), citing Border Guards commander Mohamed Saleh Younes, announced the defection of a large group of RSF members and their decision to join Sudan’s Armed Forces.

According to the statement, the group is comprised of 318 personnel – including four commanders – and as many as 50 combat vehicles.

“The doors of the homeland are open to everyone who wishes to return to the ranks of the armed forces,” Younes was quoted as saying.

He added that Sudan’s armed forces would continue their efforts to restore security across the strife-torn country.

The statement also quoted Lieutenant-Colonel Musa Ali Ahmed, the reported leader of the group of defectors, who attributed the group’s decision to the “absence of institutional structures” within the RSF.

Ahmed was further quoted as saying that the group had decided to join the army for the sake of “Sudan’s unity.”

Last week, the Sudanese authorities announced that 300 other personnel, including 21 commanders, had similarly defected from the RSF and joined Sudan’s armed forces.

The RSF has recently been dogged by increasing defections among its military and political leadership, most notably political adviser Fares al-Nour, field commander Ali Rizqallah, and Major-General Al-Nour Ahmed Adam.

Since last October, Sudan’s Darfur and Blue Nile states – along with North, West and South Kordofan – have witnessed fierce clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF.

Sudan has remained engulfed in conflict between the army and the paramilitary RSF since April 2023.

According to UN and international estimates, the conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead and displaced nearly 13 million others.