General defects from neutral SLA-AW
Prominent defector announces army-aligned faction and declares war on RSF
A senior military commander of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) led by Abdelwahid al-Nur (SLM/A-AW), a neutral armed group in the current civil war, has announced his defection and the establishment of a new faction aligned with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In a statement December 28, Major-General Salah Mustafa Abdelrahim Abdelshafi, commonly known as Salah Jok, declared the formation of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army – Call of the Homeland (SLM/A-CH). He pledged to fight alongside the SAF to “cleanse the country of mercenaries and their allies,” referring to the RSF.
The SLM/A, originally founded in 2000 as the Darfur Liberation Movement and later renamed in 2003, has been plagued by divisions over the years. The first major split occurred in 2006 when the group's secretary-general, Minni Minnawi, signed the Abuja Peace Agreement, which was rejected by Abdelwahid. This division marked the beginning of the group’s fragmentation, leading to the emergence of multiple factions with divergent agendas.
Subsequent divisions saw the rise of several other factions. Among those still in existence are the Gathering of Sudan Liberation Forces (GSLF), the Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLM-TC) under Al-Hadi Idris, the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Mustafa Tambour, and the Sudanese Alliance led by the late Khamis Abdallah Abkar, the former governor of West Darfur.
Often, these divisions reflected existing underlying ethnic, geographic, and military divisions within the SLM, rather than ideological differences.
In the aftermath of Omar al-Bashir's ouster in April 2019 due to a popular uprising on the streets of Khartoum, all these factions except Abdelwahid's signed a peace agreement with Sudan's transitional government.
However, the outbreak of the current war has shifted alliances. The Minawi faction, the Tambour faction, and JEM led by Jibril Ibrahim have aligned themselves with the Sudanese army. By contrast, factions led by Abdelwahid, Al-Hadi Idris, Al-Tahir Hajar, and Suleiman Sandal have remained neutral, refusing to take sides in the conflict.
The neutral groups, however, suffered splits and defections as both warring parties offered enticements and applied pressure to join the war. For instance, the GSLF’s deputy and military chief defected to the side of the Sudanese military, taking with him some troops in El Fasher, while the group’s leader Al-Tahir Hajar remained neutral.
The SAF-allied groups are now operating under the Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements (JSAMF). This is an umbrella structure that pre-dates the war, originating under the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement, which has been repurposed as an anti-RSF fighting force. Initially neutral during the first year of the war, the Joint Force declared war on the RSF in April 2024, triggering a major escalation in Darfur.
Defector explains his decision
In a statement announcing his defection, General Salah accused the SLM chairman Abdelwahid al-Nur of refusing repeated calls from rank-and-file members to side with the SAF against the RSF, which he labeled as perpetrators of atrocities.
“We are sons of this precious homeland, and fate destined us to live much of our lives in the path of struggle, demanding the legitimate rights of our people. We have been part of the Sudan Liberation Army Movement since its founding in 2000.
“As everyone knows, the movement has endured harsh circumstances, persevered, and sacrificed everything for the sake of securing the rights of this noble and resilient people, preserving its dignity, unity, and the safety of its lands for more than 24 years of continuous struggle under Abdelwahid's leadership. We were driven by hope to achieve justice for the grievances of the dear Sudanese people.
“However, the outbreak of this war, initiated by the Rapid Support Forces through a domestic and international conspiracy with unlimited foreign backing, has inflicted atrocities upon the Sudanese people. These barbaric forces have committed heinous crimes, including mass killings, genocide, ethnic cleansing, rape, displacement, looting of banks and citizens' homes, and the destruction of public institutions, all in blatant defiance of the international community.
“Despite our repeated appeals to Abdelwahid to align with the majority view of the movement's members—both leaders and grassroots—to abandon neutrality and side with the people's cause, he turned a deaf ear.
“Regrettably, we were left with no choice but to make the difficult decision, at the most critical time, with the consensus of the most resilient fighters within the movement. Today, we publicly announce our separation from Abdelwahid’s leadership as a well-deserved gift to our people on the occasion of their glorious Independence Day [January 1].
“We also affirm that we have been in the trenches alongside our comrades from the very first strike until today, standing on the frontlines. We call upon all comrades to join and stand with the people in this national call and the battle for dignity.
“It is with great honor that we announce the birth and establishment of the Sudan Liberation Army – ‘Call of the Homeland.’ We also declare our full allegiance to the Sudanese Armed Forces and all other security apparatuses, and to the entirety of the Sudanese people. We pledge to stand side by side, unconditionally, until every corner of the country is cleansed of mercenaries and their allies, and the nation enjoys security, peace, and stability, ensuring the safety of the people, their honor, and their property, by Allah’s will.”
Ethnic mobilization and its impacts in Darfur
Salah, an ethnic Zaghawa from North Darfur's Kornoi Locality, was a prominent figure in Darfur's nearly two-decade uprising. His departure from the Fur-dominated SLA-AW, historically one of Darfur's most influential movements, highlights the challenges of preserving unity among neutral factions as violence escalates. His defection reflects a growing trend of Zaghawa leaders aligning with the SAF against the RSF.
By contrast, many civil and military leaders among Darfur’s largest non-Arab tribe, the Fur, have resisted recruitment by the warring parties (with some exceptions). Most prominent among these is Abdelwahid al-Nur, whose forces control the central Darfur highlands. Having fought a long war already against both the RSF and SAF (2003-2018), Abdelwahid does not think he has a stake in the current civil war between his two former foes. Instead, he has held talks with the anti-war civil opposition.
Overall, the Fur heartlands in central Darfur have remained unaffected by fighting, whereas the principal Zaghawa homeland in North Darfur is a major conflict zone.
Salah’s defection from the neutral Abdelwahid faction underscores the consolidation of Zaghawa leaders behind the SAF. Unlike other ethnic groups, the Zaghawa maintain extensive cross-border networks, particularly in Chad, enabling them to mobilize fighters, resources, and political support effectively. This cross-border capability poses a significant challenge to the Arab-dominated RSF, as the Zaghawa’s organizational reach mirrors the RSF's own transnational recruitment strategies, intensifying the regional dimensions of the conflict.
The rallying of Zaghawa leaders to the SAF side strengthens the army’s position and heightens pressure on the RSF, which now faces an adversary with comparable maneuver capabilities and combat tactics. (It also threatens to create serious fissures within the government of Chadian President Mahamat Déby, who is himself Zaghawa).
Historically, Zaghawa-led movements like the JEM and SLM-MM have proven their ability to sustain prolonged military campaigns. Their alignment with the SAF in the current war could decisively shift the balance of power in Darfur. Already stretched thin by multiple fronts, the RSF faces a coordinated Zaghawa-led resistance in Darfur, complicating its campaign to dominate the region and sustain its presence in Sudan’s central Nile Valley region where the SAF has being regaining ground in recent months.
On the other hand, not all Zaghawa align with the Sudanese military. A handful of Zaghawa politicians, belonging to neutral groups, recently leaked plans to declare a new government in Darfur, aiming to challenge the legitimacy of the SAF-led government in Port Sudan and fill the governance vacuum in Sudan’s westernmost region. Although this new government would be ostensibly independent of the RSF, critics say it would end up being controlled by the RSF. The creation of such a self-proclaimed government could further complicate the political and security situation within Darfur.
Videos
In this undated video, but widely circulating on X, formerly Twitter, Major-General Salah Jok could be since chanting slogans of the SAF-aligned JSAMF.
In the video below, which is also undated, General Salah reflects on the past displacement of non-Arab Darfurians during the 2003-2020 conflict, stating at 2:10: “[These attacks,] which will happen in Kornoy tomorrow, [will displace] people again. Like in 2003, are we prepared to become refugees once more?” and declared a “general mobilization” at 2:36 in the video to “protect my people”.
In the video below, which began circulating in October, Salah is shown addressing a group of RSF prisoners of war. This followed sprawling battles in Wadi Ambar and other northern localities of North Darfur State, where the RSF and the Joint Force engaged in rural battles that triggered civilian displacement during the same month.