World

RSF Commander Siddiq Ander Defects, Blames Hemedti’s Family for Control

By Al Jazeera Staff

Siddiq Ander, a senior commander in Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has defected from the group, according to video footage released by Al Jazeera. In the footage, Ander accuses relatives of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo—known as “Hemedti”—of tightly controlling the organization’s finances, weapons, troop movements and promotions. He says the RSF operates as a family business run by Hemedti’s relatives, and that anyone who speaks out faces expulsion, imprisonment or death.

Ander’s departure follows a series of high‑profile exits this year. On October 8, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Azraq al‑Fanjari announced his resignation, taking 300 officers, soldiers and 30 military vehicles with him and urging other fighters to leave the RSF. Earlier, on September 25, Al‑Tayeb al‑Wahidu defected to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) with 50 fighters in Omdurman, citing abuses within the RSF. In May, Brigadier Ali Rizqallah, known as Savannah, also left the RSF. Major General al‑Nour Ahmed Adam, or al‑Qubba, joined the SAF in April and was publicly welcomed by Sudanese leader Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan after disagreements over military appointments.

The conflict began in April 2023 after a power struggle between the army and the RSF over plans to integrate the paramilitary group into the regular military. Since then, about 13 million people have been displaced and parts of the country have faced famine. Both sides have increasingly used drones in attacks, causing rising civilian casualties. On October 26, drone strikes hit a market and residential area in Nyala, an RSF‑controlled city in South Darfur, killing more than 100 people according to Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese rights group, although other medical organisations reported lower figures. The United Nations says drone strikes have become the leading cause of civilian deaths in Sudan’s war.