RSF Turns To Tribal Mobilization In Darfur After Kordofan Setbacks

Nyala, August 4, 2026 - Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, has moved toward direct tribal mobilization in Darfur after battlefield setbacks in North Kordofan, marking a potentially significant shift in the war's political and military dynamics. In a speech late last week, Hemedti called for forces to mobilize to "liberate Khartoum," assemble fighters and unleash what he described as "al-Rasan" for the Kordofan front.

In Sudan's western political and military context, the term refers to untying a beast's rope and is used figuratively to signal the release of tribal and community formations for combat. The shift appears aimed at offsetting manpower losses and pressure on RSF supply lines linking Darfur, Kordofan and the capital.

It may also reduce reliance on foreign mercenaries, whose recruitment requires hard currency and has drawn international scrutiny. Tribal responses have begun to emerge in Darfur. Shartai Ibrahim Abdallah Mohamed, a prominent Fur native administration leader in South Darfur, pledged four combat brigades to the RSF-aligned Presidential Council under the "al-Rasan" slogan.

A delegation representing Arab tribes in West and Central Darfur also announced preparations for a force of 11 battalions for deployment to battlefronts. The move raises the risk of deeper communal militarization in Darfur and could further erode the region's social fabric.

For investors and humanitarian planners, it signals higher conflict-fragmentation risk across western Sudan, with implications for transport corridors, aid access and any future stabilization process.