Senior RSF commander Siddiq Ander defects in Sudan, accusing Hemedti's family of controlling the force

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 said it had become clear beyond any doubt that they were serving a purely family-based project controlled by Hemedti's relatives in every aspect — money, weapons, fighters' movements and the granting of ranks.

He added that anyone who speaks out and tells the whole truth faces expulsion, imprisonment or a hidden death.

Hemedti's brother, Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, serves as the RSF deputy commander.

Ander's exit follows a string of high-profile defections from the RSF this year, with some commanders leaving alongside hundreds of fighters.

Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Azraq al-Fanjari announced on October 8 that he was leaving, along with 300 officers and soldiers and 30 military vehicles. He also urged other fighters to abandon the RSF, expressing regret over the suffering caused by the war.

Before that, on September 25, Al-Tayeb al-Wahidu joined the rival Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) with 50 fighters in Omdurman, across the Nile from the capital, Khartoum. He cited abuses within the RSF as his reason for leaving.

In May, Brigadier Ali Rizqallah, known as Savannah, announced his departure. In April, Major General al-Nour Ahmed Adam, known as al-Qubba, joined the SAF and was publicly welcomed by Sudanese leader and military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Al-Qubba's departure followed disagreements over military appointments within the RSF leadership.

Sudan's war erupted in April 2023 after a power struggle between the army and the RSF, including disagreements over plans to integrate the paramilitary group into the regular military.

The conflict has since displaced about 13 million people and pushed parts of the country into famine.

The latest defections come as both sides increasingly use drones in attacks that have caused mounting civilian casualties. On October 26, strikes hit a market and a residential area in Nyala, an RSF-controlled city in South Darfur. Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese rights group, reported more than 100 deaths, although other medical organisations recorded lower figures. The United Nations says drone strikes have become the leading cause of civilian deaths in Sudan's war.