Khartoum, August 20 (Darfur24)
The Sudanese Armed Forces announced on Thursday that it had completed the first phase of procedures to regularize the status of several Rapid Support Forces (RSF) members who have joined its ranks since the war began in April 2023.
The army said the procedures included administering the oath and adjusting the recruits’ administrative status in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, ahead of their deployment to various military formations and units.
The process was completed in the presence of Major General Al-Walid Abdul Qadir Ajabna, Director of the Army Administration Branch, and several commanders of military formations and units.
Ajabna said the recruits had completed security and administrative procedures, welcoming them into the armed forces and praising what he described as their decision to return to the side of the state.
Brigadier General Ishaq Saad Othman, head of the committee responsible for regularizing the status of those joining from the RSF, outlined the procedures and mechanisms for absorbing the recruits and praised their “national spirit.”
The announcement comes amid a series of defections from the RSF in recent months, involving commanders and armed groups of varying sizes moving to areas controlled by the army.
Among the most prominent defections since the war began was that of Abu Aqla Kikil, the former RSF commander in Gezira State, who joined the army in October 2024 after previously leading RSF forces in the state. The army subsequently announced his integration while allowing his Sudan Shield force to continue operating as a separate unit.
Defections have continued in 2026. In June, the army announced that several RSF commanders and fighters, including Al-Nur Qubba and Ali Rizqallah Al-Safna, had defected.
On Wednesday, the army said a force of about 318 fighters, including four commanders and around 50 combat vehicles, had defected and arrived in Al-Dabba locality in Northern State before beginning integration procedures.
In July, another group of RSF defectors arrived in Khartoum from Darfur, with media reports estimating their number at about 280 fighters and their military equipment. A separate group in Omdurman also announced its defection at the end of July, handing over its members and equipment to the army.