RSF senior commander defects, accusing Sudan group’s leadership of nepotism

Senior commander Siddiq Ander says he has defected from Sudan ‘s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to exclusive video footage obtained by Al Jazeera. The footage, published on Friday, shows Ander accusing relatives of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti”, of tightly controlling the group’s finances, weapons, troop movements and military promotions. Ander’s exit follows a string of high-profile defections this year, with some commanders leaving alongside hundreds of fighters. “It has become clear to us beyond any doubt that we were serving a purely family-based project controlled by Hemedti’s relatives in every aspect, money, weapons, fighters’ movements and the granting of ranks,” Ander said.