Sudanese Army Reports First Defection of a Senior RSF Commander

Sudan’s army said on Sunday a commander from its foe the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had defected with some of his troops, in what would be the first such move by a senior figure since the sides started fighting more than 18 months ago.

The RSF, which has taken control of large parts of the country during the conflict with the military, has not yet commented on the defection. The United Nations has described the situation as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Supporters of the army posted photos online purporting to show Abuagla Keikal – a former army officer who became the RSF’s top commander in the southeastern state of El Gezira – after he had defected.

Volunteers distribute food in Omdurman, Sudan, September 2023, where conflict has displaced more than 10 million people. Photograph: El Tayeb Siddig/Reuters.

The army, which has recently reported gains against the RSF in parts of the capital, said Keikal had decided to make the move because of his former force’s “destructive agenda.”

However, the army provided no further details, and there has been no statement, either in print or video, from Keikal himself.

The conflict has displaced more than 10 million people, driven parts of the country to extreme hunger or famine, and drawn in foreign powers that have supplied both sides with material support.

A Sudanese family who fled the conflict in Murnei in Sudan’s Darfur region, sit beside their belongings while waiting to be registered by UNHCR upon crossing the border between Sudan and Chad in Adre [File: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]

It began in April 2023, when tensions between the RSF and the army—who had been jostling for position ahead of an internationally backed transition to civilian rule—escalated into open conflict.

The army and the RSF had previously shared power after staging a coup in 2021, two years after the fall of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising.