RSF senior commander defects, accusing Sudan group’s leadership of nepotism

Senior commander Siddiq Ander notes he has defected from Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Backing Forces (RSF), according to exclusive video footage obtained by Al Jazeera.

Key points

• A wave of defections has seen a number of senior RSF commanders leave the group this year, including Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Azraq al-Fanjari.
• On October 26, strikes hit a market and residential area in Nyala, an RSF-controlled city in South Darfur.
• Although other medical organisations recorded lower figures, emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese rights group, documented more than 100 deaths.
• His announcement came after the September 25 defection of Al-Tayeb al-Wahidu.
• Earlier, in May, Brigadier Ali Rizqallah, known as Savannah, confirmed his departure.

Notably, the footage, published on Friday, demonstrates Ander accusing relatives of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as "Hemedti", of tightly controlling the group's finances, weapons, troop movements and military promotions.

Ander's exit follows a string of high-profile defections this year, with some commanders leaving alongside hundreds of fighters.

"It has become clear to us beyond any doubt that we were serving a purely family-based project controlled by Hemedti's relatives in every aspect, money, weapons, fighters' movements and the granting of ranks, " Ander remarked.

"Anyone who speaks out and tells the whole truth faces expulsion, imprisonment or a hidden death."

Hemedti's brother, Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, serves as the RSF deputy commander. Senior commanders break ranks.

Notably, a wave of defections has seen a number of senior RSF commanders leave the group this year, including Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Azraq al-Fanjari. This person unveiled on October 8 that he was leaving, along with 300 officers and soldiers and 30 military vehicles.

Al-Fanjari additionally called on other fighters to abandon the RSF, expressing regret over the suffering caused by the war.

His announcement came after the September 25 defection of Al-Tayeb al-Wahidu. This person joined the enemy Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) with 50 fighters in Omdurman, throughout the Nile from the capital, Khartoum, according to The Sudan Tribune. Al-Wahidu cited abuses within the RSF as his reason for leaving.

Yet another senior commander, Major General al-Nour Ahmed Adam, known as al-Qubba, joined the SAF in April and was publicly welcomed by Sudanese leader and military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Al-Qubba's departure followed disagreements over military appointments within the RSF leadership, the Tribune documented.

Sudan's war erupted in April 2023 after a power struggle between the army and the RSF, including disagreements over intends to integrate the paramilitary group into the regular military.

Notably, the conflict has since displaced regarding 13 million residents and pushed parts of the country into famine.

In practice, the latest defections come as both sides increasingly employ drones in attacks that have caused mounting civilian casualties.

Meanwhile, the United Nations notes drone strikes have become the leading cause of civilian deaths in Sudan's war.

For now, RSF senior commander defects, accusing Sudan group's leadership of nepotism remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.