Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces is considering withdrawing thousands of fighters deployed in Saudi Arabia following public criticism from Riyadh at the United Nations, according to sources cited by Darfur24.
The sources said RSF units serving with the Saudi-led coalition had vacated several forward positions near the Yemeni border and regrouped inside their bases while awaiting instructions from the group’s leadership.
The reported redeployment followed remarks by Saudi Arabia’s UN ambassador, Abdulaziz Alwasil, who accused the RSF of continuing to commit humanitarian violations and attacks against civilians in Sudan.
According to Darfur24, the RSF leadership rejected the ambassador’s accusations and communicated its displeasure to the Saudi government. The report said some figures within the group were advocating a complete withdrawal from the Saudi-led coalition and Saudi territory.
The sources also claimed that the RSF had requested a formal apology from Riyadh. Neither the Saudi government nor the RSF has publicly confirmed the request or the reported movement of forces.
A prominent pro-RSF media page, QN News SD, separately called on RSF fighters to leave Saudi Arabia immediately and demanded an official apology from Riyadh over Alwasil’s remarks.
“Following the Saudi representative’s remarks at the Security Council, we call on our forces to withdraw immediately from Saudi territory,” the page said.
The post indicated growing anger within pro-RSF media circles but did not provide evidence that a withdrawal had been ordered or begun.
Darfur24 estimated that more than 5,000 RSF fighters remain deployed with coalition forces in Saudi Arabia, where some have reportedly served for more than three years. The figure could not be independently verified.
The outlet’s sources also speculated that RSF commander and Sudan Founding Alliance presidential council chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo’s recent visit to Ethiopia could be connected to possible arrangements for returning the fighters through a neighbouring country to RSF-controlled areas of Darfur and Kordofan.
No statement from Dagalo, the RSF or TASIS has linked the Ethiopia visit to the reported dispute with Saudi Arabia.
The RSF’s official channels had not announced a withdrawal, redeployment or apology demand at the time of publication, leaving the operational details dependent on Darfur24’s unnamed sources.
