A top general from Sudan's Rapid Support Forces has defected to the army, the paramilitary's war adversary, in a symbolically significant development that is unlikely to change the balance of power in the country's civil war.
The army-led Sovereign Council said the defecting general, Al Nour Ahmed Adam, was welcomed in the country's north by Sudan's army chief and de facto ruler Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan.
A video shared widely online purported to show Gen Adam, also known as Al Qouba, arriving in the northern city of Donqola and being received by senior army officers.
Gen Adam is the second high-profile defector from the RSF to the Sudanese Armed Forces since 2024. Abu Aqla Kaikal, once a battle-seasoned and charismatic RSF officer, moved over to the army in October 2024. He played a key role in the army's campaign to wrest control of central Sudan and later the capital Khartoum from the RSF.
Like Mr Kaikal, Gen Adam has been granted amnesty in line with the military's repeated pledge to welcome to its ranks RSF members who decide to defect.
Gen Adam is known to have played a crucial role in the RSF capture of El Fasher last October, robbing the army of its last foothold in Darfur state and giving the paramilitary full control of the vast western region.
According to Sudanese sources speaking on condition of anonymity, Gen Adam was angered at not being made commander of North Darfur state after his vital role in El Fasher.
They said Gen Adam started his journey to northern Sudan from North Darfur on April 9 after he evaded detention by a party of RSF fighters who had been sent to take him to Nyala in Darfur, the seat of the RSF-aligned government.
He fled with scores of loyal fighters in a convoy of nearly 50 all-terrain vehicles across the desert, first to point where the borders of Sudan, Egypt and Libya meet, not far from Chad, and then to Donqola, the sources said. Army drones were deployed to escort Gen Adam and his cohort in their trek across the desert, firing at several RSF checkpoints along the way.
It was not immediately clear what position Gen Adam would be given in the army but the sources said he would be debriefed by the army's intelligence for days or maybe weeks before he assumes any command.
Fighting between the army and the RSF has been focused mainly on the Kordofan region since the fall of El Fasher. Gen Al Burhan is widely believed to be planning to drive the RSF out of Kordofan, before advancing on Darfur with the intention of taking it back.
It is a challenging goal given that Darfur is the RSF's birthplace and where it enjoys wide support among a large segment of the population. However, Gen Adam's expertise in Darfur could prove beneficial.
Beside Darfur and parts of Kordofan, the RSF and allied anti-government rebels maintain a presence in the southern Blue Nile State near the Ethiopian and South Sudanese borders.
During the war in Sudan, which entered its fourth year this month, tens of thousands have been killed, at least 12 million displaced and a humanitarian crisis has developed, with more than half the population – 25 million people – facing hunger.
Gen Al Burhan and Gen Mohamed Dagalo, the RSF commander, say they are fighting to bring democratic rule and inclusion to the religiously and ethnically diverse Afro-Arab nation. However, the two men, who are accused by the US and the UN of war crimes, are widely believed to be fighting for domination of the country.
Al Shafie Ahmed contributed to this report from Kampala, Uganda
