Sudanese Armed Forces Secure Defection of RSF Commander Al-Nour “Al-Qubba” to Dongola

In a complex, breath-holding operation where ground fire intersected with aerial oversight, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), under intensive drone cover, succeeded in securing the arrival of Major General Al-Nour Ahmed Adam (“Al-Qubba”), who defected from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, to the city of Dongola. The escape journey, which began from RSF strongholds in Kutum, North Darfur, was not merely a military defection but a race against death across the expanses of the Sahara Desert. Army drones reportedly undertook the task of crushing RSF ambushes that attempted to intercept the defecting force, effectively charting a path of survival for 46 combat vehicles in what is described as one of the largest security and political blows to the RSF ranks.

On Sunday, Al-Nour (“Al-Qubba”) arrived in Dongola in the Northern State, coming from Kutum locality in North Darfur, in one of the most significant defections to hit the ranks of the RSF militia since the defection of the commander of Sudan Shield Forces, Abu Agla Kaykal, in October 2024. Al-Qubba is considered one of the founders of the RSF and played a prominent role in the April 2023 war, being among the key commanders who participated in the battles of El-Fashir in North Darfur, alongside Ali Yagoub, who was killed in one of the clashes inside the city, and Jadu Ibn Shouk, who is related to the RSF leader.

In early April of this year, Al-Qubba defected from the RSF following underlying disputes stemming from his dissatisfaction over not being appointed as the military commander of North Darfur after the capture of El-Fashir on 26 October 2025. Instead, the RSF appointed Jadu Ibn Shouk to the position, in addition to what was described as the neglect of his forces and discriminatory practices against them.

Military sources told Sudan Tribune that Al-Qubba arrived in Dongola in the Northern State, where he was received by a force from the Sudanese Army, the General Intelligence Service, the Joint Force, and the Sudanese Awakening Revolutionary Council forces led by Musa Hilal.

The sources stated that the movement of the defecting general began on 9 April, when he left the town of “Al-Qubba,” near Kutum in North Darfur, following attempts by an RSF force dispatched from El-Fashir to arrest him and transfer him to Nyala after accusations of rebellion and refusal to participate in combat operations.

The sources added that elements loyal to Al-Qubba from his ethnic group managed to secure his departure with approximately 46 combat vehicles from his town until reaching areas near Al-Tina in the far west of North Darfur, before taking the desert route toward northern Sudan.

The sources further revealed that army drones actively participated in securing the exit of the defecting force in the Sahara Desert, striking several ambushes along the route until the force managed to reach the town of “Al-Khannaq,” a desert area near the tri-border region between Sudan, Egypt, and Libya.