Another Sudanese rebel commander defects to army – media
Another senior commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has defected to the Sudanese army, bringing around 300 fighters and 30 military vehicles with him, The Sudan Times reported on Thursday.
Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Azraq al-Fanjari, who identified himself as commander of the RSF’s Special Tasks Group, announced his departure in a video circulated on Thursday. He described the conflict as a “futile war.”
“I, Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Azraq al-Fanjari ... announce my resignation and withdrawal from all military duties and responsibilities within the ranks of the Rapid Support Forces,” he said. Fanjari apologized to Sudanese families who had lost relatives, been displaced or suffered during the fighting.
The local news agency said the number of personnel accompanying Fanjari could not be independently verified, while the RSF has not publicly confirmed the scale of the reported defection.
The move comes as Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has ruled out negotiations with the RSF, pledging to continue military operations until the paramilitary group is defeated. “We say it again: We have no negotiations with anyone, we are not speaking with anyone, and we have nothing to do with anyone,” Burhan said on Tuesday during a visit to Northern State.
Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023 following months of tensions between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF.
Sudan descended into chaos in April 2023 when fighting erupted between the national army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict followed months of tension between their commanders, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, over a planned transition to civilian rule. What began in the capital, Khartoum, as a power struggle has devastated the country, killing tens of thousands, displacing millions, and pushing parts of Sudan into famine.
Regional and international peace efforts, including African Union mediation and Saudi-US talks in Jeddah, have repeatedly stalled. In September 2025, the Quad group – the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates – proposed a three-month humanitarian truce leading to a permanent ceasefire and a civilian-led political transition. Burhan rejected a subsequent US-led proposal that November, arguing it would dismantle state security institutions while leaving the RSF in place. The paramilitaries said they accepted the truce.
The UAE’s involvement has deepened mistrust of mediation. Sudan’s army-backed government severed diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi in May 2025, accusing it of supporting the RSF. The UAE denies supplying weapons to the paramilitaries. Relations with Washington deteriorated further in September 2026 after the US questioned both factions’ legitimacy. Sudan rejected the remarks and called for peace efforts free from foreign dictates.
Meanwhile, rival administrations have entrenched Sudan’s divisions. Burhan’s government returned to Khartoum in January 2026 after the army recaptured the capital, having operated from Port Sudan during the fighting. In July 2025, the RSF-aligned TASIS coalition announced a rival government based in Nyala, Darfur, with Dagalo heading its governing council. The UN Security Council and African Union rejected the move.
Several senior RSF commanders have switched sides since 2024. Abuagla Keikal, commander of the Sudan Shield Forces, defected in October that year, followed by Major General Al-Nour Ahmed Adam, known as Al-Nour al-Qubba, in April 2026 and Ali Rizqallah, also known as Al-Savana, in May 2026.
More recently, around 200 RSF fighters led by Abubakr Hamouda Dahloub, identified as the group’s intelligence chief in North Kordofan, joined the army in late August, Sudan’s state news agency SUNA reported. Another 50 fighters reportedly defected in Omdurman in September, according to the Sudan Tribune. On Saturday, an additional 106 fighters, including 18 officers, from the paramilitary group reportedly switched sides in North Darfur.
