Sudan commander defects over nepotism
Siddiq Ander accuses RSF leadership of handing key military roles to Hemedti's relatives, joining a wave of high-profile departures this year.
By Beatriz Soto ·
More than 100 people died in drone strikes on Nyala earlier this month, a figure that underscores the rising civilian toll in Sudan's conflict.
Amid that violence, senior Rapid Support Forces commander Siddiq Ander announced his departure from the group. Video footage released Friday shows Ander accusing top leadership of favoring family ties over military merit. He stated that the RSF has become a family-based project controlled by relatives of leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.
Ander said these relatives managed the group's finances, weapons, troop movements, and promotions. He warned that anyone speaking the truth faced expulsion, imprisonment, or a hidden death. Hemedti's brother, Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, currently serves as the deputy commander of the RSF.
Ander is the latest in a series of senior officers leaving the paramilitary group. Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Azraq al-Fanjari left on October 8 with 300 officers and soldiers and 30 military vehicles. Before him, Al-Tayeb al-Wahidu joined the Sudanese Armed Forces on September 25 with 50 fighters in Omdurman, citing internal abuses.
Brigadier Ali Rizqallah, known as Savannah, departed in May. Major General al-Nour Ahmed Adam, known as al-Qubba, joined the army in April after disagreements over military appointments. Sudanese leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan publicly welcomed al-Qubba.
The war began in April 2023 over a power struggle between the army and the RSF, specifically regarding plans to integrate the paramilitary group into the regular military. The conflict has displaced about 13 million people and pushed parts of the country into famine. The United Nations reports that drone strikes are now the leading cause of civilian deaths in the war.
On October 26, strikes hit a market and residential area in Nyala, an RSF-controlled city in South Darfur. Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese rights group, reported more than 100 deaths, while other medical organizations recorded lower figures.
