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

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that Siddiq Ander, a senior commander in Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has defected and accused the group’s leadership of nepotism and family control. The broadcaster says it obtained exclusive video footage in which Ander described the RSF as a project dominated by relatives of its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti. In the footage, Ander alleged that Hemedti’s family influenced the group’s finances, weapons, troop movements and promotions.

The report says Ander’s departure is part of a wider pattern of defections from the RSF this year, including commanders who left with fighters and vehicles. Al Jazeera also cited earlier exits by other senior figures, some of whom later joined the Sudanese Armed Forces, as evidence of growing fractures within the paramilitary group.

The defections come against the backdrop of Sudan’s war, which began in April 2023 after a struggle between the army and the RSF over power and the future integration of the force into the national military. The conflict has displaced millions of people and contributed to famine in some areas, according to the report. Al Jazeera also noted that drone strikes have recently intensified, with civilian casualties rising in parts of the country, including RSF-held Nyala in South Darfur.