The reported departure of Fares al-Nur, a member of the presidential council of the Sudan Founding Alliance, TASIS, has opened a new round of speculation over the internal balance of the RSF-backed political project, even as authorities in Nyala move against a senior finance official in South Darfur.
Radio Dabanga reported on Tuesday that al-Nur, who had also been appointed governor of Khartoum within the TASIS administration, had broken with the alliance and arrived in Saudi Arabia. The report said al-Nur previously served as an adviser to Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and as a member of the RSF negotiating team.
Independent Arabia described the move as a sign that defection pressure may now be reaching the political wing linked to the RSF, noting that al-Nur had remained close to Dagalo’s political and media circle for years before re-emerging inside TASIS in 2025.
Still, the circumstances around al-Nur’s exit remain unclear. There has been no fully detailed public account from TASIS explaining whether his departure reflects a rupture, a personal repositioning, or an internal reshuffle at a moment when the alliance is trying to consolidate its governing institutions in Darfur.
At the same time, Dabanga reported that RSF authorities had detained Ahmed Baraka, the finance minister in South Darfur, more than a week ago over allegations linked to corruption and economic harm. The report said RSF military intelligence had monitored the minister’s activities before searching his home and finding large quantities of Sudanese currency.
According to Dabanga’s sources, initial investigations suggested the money had been collected from financial institutions connected to the ministry, including revenue bodies. Baraka was reportedly transferred to Dagriss prison west of Nyala, where he remains in custody.
Taken together, the two developments point to a sensitive phase for the TASIS administration in Nyala. The reported exit of a presidential council member raises questions about cohesion at the top of the alliance, while the detention of a finance minister signals an attempt to impose discipline inside the wartime administration and protect its credibility over public money.
For TASIS, the challenge is not only military survival but political durability. Since announcing governing structures in RSF-held areas, the alliance has sought to project itself as a civilian-led alternative to the Port Sudan SAF junta. That requires showing it can manage security, revenues, appointments and accountability without being consumed by factional disputes.
But the Nyala finance case also gives TASIS a counter-frame: that its institutions are willing to move against officials accused of abuse, even inside its own administration. If handled transparently, the case could be presented as a test of accountability rather than a sign of internal disorder.
The larger point is that TASIS is beginning to face the kind of internal tests that come with building real institutions in wartime. Al-Nur’s reported departure may generate political noise, but it does not by itself alter the alliance’s control on the ground or its expanding administrative structure in Nyala. Baraka’s detention, meanwhile, offers TASIS an opportunity to present itself as a governing authority willing to police its own ranks and confront corruption inside its administration.
Together, the two developments show that TASIS is moving beyond battlefield politics into the harder work of institutional discipline, accountability and civilian administration.
In a country fractured by war, that may prove as important as any military gain.
