Al-Sadiq al-Zain, one of the founding participants and signatories of the Sudan Founding Alliance (TASIS), has announced his withdrawal from the coalition and an end to his political support for it.
Al-Zain said in a statement issued from New York that the decision followed what he described as a careful review of the alliance’s political course, positions and direction.
He said his departure did not represent a retreat from his longstanding support for civilian democratic government, justice and equal citizenship, adding that his political positions were based on principles rather than loyalty to particular individuals or organisations.
“Principle comes before alliance, and the homeland is greater than the organisation,” Al-Zain said.
Al-Zain also addressed his previous support for the Rapid Support Forces following the outbreak of Sudan’s war, saying he had regarded that position at the time as support for what he saw as the civilian democratic camp against forces seeking to restore the former political order.
His statement did not accuse the RSF or TASIS leadership of a specific dispute, nor did it detail particular disagreements that led to his decision. Several Sudanese outlets have portrayed the resignation as evidence of widening divisions within TASIS, but those characterisations go beyond the reasons set out in Al-Zain’s own statement.
Al-Zain was closely involved in the formation of TASIS. In an account published after the coalition’s Nairobi meetings in 2025, he said he had taken part as a founding member in discussions over the alliance’s political vision, governing framework and proposed government programme.
He also said he served on committees dealing with the government programme and humanitarian assistance and signed the TASIS founding charter on behalf of the Supreme Council for Dar Hamar Affairs, which he led in an acting capacity.
Al-Zain said he would now continue political activity independently, focusing on ending Sudan’s war and supporting a political system based on equal citizenship and broader participation.
The resignation comes against competing assessments of the condition of the alliance.
Just a day before reports of Al-Zain’s departure emerged, senior TASIS figure Hasab al-Nabi Mahmoud rejected suggestions that the coalition was weakening or that its forces were undergoing a broad collapse.
Mahmoud, who heads TASIS’ Media Committee and the Democratic Sudan Liberation Movement, described the alliance as being at what he called the strongest stage of its political and revolutionary development. His assessment has not been independently verified.
No specific public response from the TASIS leadership or the RSF to Al-Zain’s resignation was located in official material accessible at the time of publication.
