Roughly 200 Rapid Support Forces (RSF) members, including key leaders, switched sides to join the Sudanese army in Omdurman this past Sunday. this move follows a string of high-profile desertions that suggest growing instability within the paramilitary organization.
Abu Bakr Hamouda Dahloop and the Omdurman Defection
The most recent wave of desertions was led by Abu Bakr Hamouda Dahloop, who previously served as the commander of the special missions intelligence division in North Kordofan state. According to the state-run Sudan News Agency, Dahloop and approximately 200 fighters moved into Omdurman, a major city west of the capital, Khartoum, to formally pledge their allegiance to the Sudanese army.
These defectors did not arrive empty-handed;the report says they brought all their military equipment with them.. by joining what they termed the "national camp," the group expresed a readiness to engage in combat operations to eliminate the RSF militia and support the demands of the Sudanese people.
The 800-fighter exodus since August 13
The arrival of Dahloop's unit is part of a broader pattern of attrition that has accelerated throughout August. As reported by the source, a significant defection occurred on August 19, involving 318 fighters, four military commanders, and 50 combat vehicles. This specific contingent was led by Lieutenant Colonel Musa Ali Ahmed, who is commonly known by the alias Khamsin.
This followed an even earlier breach in RSF discipline on August 13, when authorities reported that 270 fighters and 21 commanders abandoned the paramilitary group. Collectively, these three waves represent a sudden loss of nearly 800 combatants and dozens of officers in less than a month, signaling a potential collapse in morale among mid-level RSF leadership.
The loss of Fares Al-Nour and the RSF political core
Beyond the rank-and-file soldiers, the Rapid Support Forces are losing the strategic minds that manage their political and field operations. The source highlights the departure of Fares Al-Nour, a political adviser to the RSF commander, alongside Major General Al-Nour Ahmed Adam (known as Al-Nour Al-Qubba) and field commander Ali Rizqallah, who operates under the alias Savanna.
The loss of these specific figures is more damaging than the loss of infantry. when political advisers and general-grade officers defect, it suggests that the RSF's internal vision is fracturing, leaving the group with a depleted capacity to coordinate complex military campaigns or negotiate political settlements.
The battle for the three Kordofan states
These defections are occurring against the backdrop of a brutal conflict that began in April 2023. The three Kordofan states—North, West, and South Kordofan—have become central theaters of war, witnessing intense clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF. Control over these strategic territories is vital for any side hoping to dominate the Sudanese interior.
The human cost of this struggle is staggering.. Estimates from the United Nations and other international organizations indicate that the war has killed tens of thousands and displaced roughly 13 million people. The current trend of RSF fighters switching sides suggests that the material and human costs of the war are finally outweighing the incentives of remaining with the paramilitary force.
Who is verifying the RSF's internal fracture?
While the Sudanese authorities frame these events as a patriotic return to state institutions, a critical gap remains in the reporting: there is no official response from the RSF leadership. It remains unknown whether the RSF views these departures as isolated incidents of betrayal or if they are acknowledging a systemic failure in their command structure.
Furthermore, because the primary source of these claims is the state-run Sudan News Agency, it is unclear if the numbers of defectors are being inflated for psychological warfare. Without independent verification from third-party obervers on the ground in Omdurman or the Kordofan region, the exact scale of the RSF's erosion remains a point of contention.
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