Khartoum (EFE).- In recent hours, over 300 fighters from the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) surrendered to the Sudanese Army on the fronts in Omdurman, near Sudan’s capital, and in El-Obeid, in southern Sudan, where intense clashes have occurred, according to military sources who spoke with EFE.
The sources, who requested anonymity, said that a contingent of over 280 RSF members defected in Darfur, the paramilitaries’ stronghold, and arrived in Omdurman at dawn aboard some 30 combat vehicles after crossing the desert to avoid the roads.
In addition, a convoy of 44 paramilitaries in eight combat vehicles defected in West Kordofan State. It surrendered to the army’s 5th Division in Al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, currently on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe due to constant RSF attacks.
The sources said that among the defectors were fighters who had been deployed to Al-Obeid to lay siege to the city.
Several prominent FAR commanders and rank-and-file fighters have defected to the army in recent months amid advances by regular troops on multiple fronts, following the military command’s promise to grant amnesty to those who swear allegiance to the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Sudan is currently militarily divided into two parts, the southwest, controlled by the FAR, and the northeast, controlled by the army.
In recent weeks, the army has made gains in disputed areas such as Kordofan and even in some parts of Darfur, where the paramilitaries have concentrated their power.
The conflict erupted in Apr. 2023, claiming tens of thousands of lives and forcing 14 million people to flee their homes.
The United Nations reported that Sudan has become the site of the world’s worst crisis of displacement and hunger. EFE
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