SAF Integrates RSF Defectors After New Surrenders

Khartoum, August 21, 2026 - The Sudanese Armed Forces said they completed the initial phase of processing and regularizing defectors from the Rapid Support Forces, a move that could bolster the army's manpower and political narrative as the war grinds on.

The step followed defections in Darfur and Kordofan in recent months and came after a unit of more than 300 RSF fighters surrendered to army units in Northern State on Wednesday. Military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who heads the Transitional Sovereignty Council, has repeatedly offered amnesty to RSF personnel who leave the paramilitary force and join the national army.

The integration process was overseen by Major General El-Waleed Abdel Gadir Ajabna, head of the army's administration branch, with senior field commanders. Officials said defectors underwent security and intelligence background checks before being regularized under military regulations and assigned to operational units.

The RSF did not comment on the defections. For investors, the defections point to shifting battlefield incentives and possible strains inside the RSF, but they do not by themselves signal a near-term end to Sudan's conflict or its disruption of state institutions, logistics and commercial activity.