A force of dozens of fighters led by General Musa Khamsin has defected from Sudan\u2019s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and joined the army, the latest in a series of defections in recent months involving field commanders, fighters, and political officials from the RSF-led Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasis).<\/p>\n
\nThe defections are raising questions over what is happening inside the RSF: whether they mark the start of deeper military and political erosion, or remain limited losses that its leadership can contain and replace.<\/p>\n
\nKhamsin said that after reaching army-held territory, his group had come from North Darfur and that Major General al-Nour Ahmed al-Qubba, one of the most prominent RSF defectors, had helped them reach Khartoum.<\/p>\n
\nHe also cited disappointment with the Tasis project, saying they had initially believed it would establish a new state but later reached a different conclusion.<\/p>\n
\nWelcoming Khamsin and his fighters, al-Qubba said he expected more commanders and forces to defect. He urged RSF fighters in Darfur and Kordofan to join the army.<\/p>\n
\nArmy moves to absorb defectors<\/p>\n
\nThe latest defection comes as the army takes further steps to integrate former RSF members.<\/p>\n
\nOn Wednesday, it said it had completed the first phase of procedures to regularize the status of those who had joined its ranks. The process included taking an oath and completing security and administrative arrangements ahead of their deployment to army formations and units.<\/p>\n
\nThe army did not disclose how many people were involved.<\/p>\n
\nMajor General al-Walid Abdel Qader Ajabna, director of the army\u2019s Administration Branch, welcomed the new arrivals and praised what he called their decision to \u201cside with the state\u201d and leave the RSF.<\/p>\n
\nOne of the most significant defections came in October 2024, when Abu Aqla Keikel, commander of the Sudan Shield forces and a senior RSF commander responsible for Gezira state in central Sudan, left the RSF and joined the army.<\/p>\n
\nThe trend gathered momentum this year.<\/p>\n
\nIn April, Major General al-Nour al-Qubba, one of the RSF\u2019s most prominent commanders in Darfur, defected and joined the army. He later said he had been the \u201cthird man\u201d in the RSF by military rank and had left with three groups, along with their vehicles and equipment.<\/p>\n
\nMore defections follow<\/p>\n
\nFurther defections followed.<\/p>\n
\nIn May, field commander Ali Rizqallah, known as al-Safna, announced his departure from the RSF after fighting on several fronts. Smaller defections were also reported in Kordofan.<\/p>\n
\nThe trend spread to Blue Nile state in southern Sudan, where Dhaifallah Adam, deputy commander of the Fourth Combat Group, defected in June.<\/p>\n
\nHe said his decision was driven by what he described as \u201cracism and the absence of a cause or purpose for the war.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe defections have also reached the RSF\u2019s political circle.<\/p>\n
\nFaris al-Nour, a former adviser to the RSF commander and a member of the Tasis alliance\u2019s Presidential Council, resigned from the council and from his post as governor of Khartoum.<\/p>\n
\nHe was followed this month by Hamed Mohammed Khalifa, a Presidential Council member whom the alliance had appointed governor of the Kordofan region.<\/p>\n
\nThe resignations add a political dimension to the military defections, as Tasis seeks to present itself as the political framework for the RSF-led project and its allies.<\/p>\n
\nQuestions over loyalty<\/p>\n
\nJournalist and political analyst Osman Mirghani said the developments represented a \u201cmajor shift\u201d that had moved beyond the military sphere into politics.<\/p>\n
\nHe said the defections reflected the \u201ccollapse of the political project\u201d and declining belief among some RSF members that there was a genuine political cause worth fighting for.<\/p>\n
\nMirghani said the way the government and army received defectors, particularly al-Qubba, had encouraged others to follow, after seeing that the army was prepared to accept and absorb them.<\/p>\n
\nAt the same time, comments by Major General Ahmed Qajja, a senior RSF commander, have raised concerns within the group about the loyalty of some political and military figures.<\/p>\n
\nQajja recently said there was what he called a \u201cfifth column\u201d inside both the RSF and Tasis.<\/p>\n
\nHe said his forces had information raising suspicions about around 50% of political advisers, without providing evidence.<\/p>\n
\nHe also said he had information about politicians planning to defect and that a file containing their names was being prepared for submission directly to the RSF leadership. He added that there were similar concerns among military personnel.<\/p>\n
\nQajja called for tighter controls on the movements of senior leaders, saying: \u201cNo senior political figure should move without the commander-in-chief\u2019s permission.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nHe denied the existence of any agreement with the army and described joining it as \u201ca betrayal of the cause.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nRSF still able to fight<\/p>\n
\nDespite signs of internal strain, the RSF has not yet lost its ability to operate militarily.<\/p>\n
\nIt remains capable of mobilizing fighters, moving forces and launching attacks on several fronts, as seen recently in North Kordofan and Blue Nile, despite conflicting accounts from the two sides over the outcome of those battles.<\/p>\n
\nThat continuing capacity makes it difficult to treat the defections alone as evidence of an imminent military collapse.<\/p>\n
\nAs long as the RSF can recruit, move units and sustain operations across distant fronts, the impact of the defections remains uncertain.<\/p>\n
\nRetired army Lieutenant Colonel al-Tayeb al-Malkabi cautioned against viewing them as proof that the RSF\u2019s collapse was inevitable.<\/p>\n
\nHe described the defections as \u201can indicator that needs to be monitored.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nTheir impact, he said, depended on the importance of the commander who defects, the size of the force leaving with him and the RSF\u2019s ability to replace its losses.<\/p>\n
\nStill, al-Malkabi said the defections were \u201cnot a good sign\u201d for the RSF because of their potential effect on cohesion and troop movements, as well as their psychological and political impact.<\/p>\n
\nWhat does the army gain?<\/p>\n
\nThe defections also raise questions about the army\u2019s motives for absorbing former RSF members.<\/p>\n
\nIs it mainly seeking to turn the defections into a political gain and weaken its rival from within, or is integrating them also a way to make up for any shortage in its own fighting forces?<\/p>\n
\nWith defections spreading from the battlefield into politics, public concern inside the RSF over the loyalty of some advisers and military personnel, and the army moving to absorb those leaving its rival, the picture remains mixed.<\/p>\n
\nPressure on RSF cohesion is growing, but the group has so far retained its ability to mobilize, fight and open new fronts.<\/p>\n
\nThe key test will be whether the RSF can replace those who leave and preserve cohesion in its command and control.<\/p>\n
\nThat will determine whether the current defections remain manageable losses or mark the start of a broader process of internal erosion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A force of dozens of fighters led by General Musa Khamsin has defected from Sudan\u2019s Rapid Support Forces…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":591278,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":["post-591277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/591278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}