Lieutenant General Khalid Nour al-Daim Bireish, a former Sudanese army officer who spent about 13 years inside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has been reported to have defected to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The reports appeared on 10 November 2026, first through Al-Hadath television and the local outlet Sudanese Echo, and were relayed by Anadolu Agency. Within hours, the RSF’s media department denied the defection and called it a rumour. As of publication, Defence Mena has found no statement from the SAF or from Bireish himself confirming where he is or whether he has crossed over. His name is also transliterated as Bresh or Brish.
What the reports say
Anadolu Agency, citing Sudanese Echo, reported that Bireish “announced” his allegiance to the army, ending about 13 years with the RSF. According to Anadolu, he joined the RSF in 2013 as one of a group of professional army officers brought in to build the force’s administrative and military structures. He later held senior administrative, security and operational posts. Anadolu said the RSF had not commented at the time of its report.
Sudanese outlets including Sudafax, Al-Zawiya and Afaq gave more biographical detail. They describe him as a graduate of the 37th intake of the Sudanese Military College, with fellowships from the Command and Staff College and the Nimeiri Higher Military Academy, plus advanced courses in Egypt and Jordan. Before he moved to the RSF as a brigadier, they say, he served in the Bahr al-Ghazal military zone, the transport and repair directorate, the Institute of Administrative Affairs, the war operations directorate, the office of the deputy chief of staff for operations, and the border guards. Inside the RSF, these outlets say, he handled security files along Sudan’s western border regions.
Egypt’s Al-Wafd newspaper went further. It described Bireish as responsible for RSF logistics supply and as an adviser to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti). It also claimed he was in China at the start of the war, tasked with a deal for drones and communications systems for the RSF. Defence Mena could not verify that claim, and no other outlet we reviewed carried it.
On X, the aggregator Clash Report said Hemedti promoted Bireish to lieutenant general in June 2026, and that pro-army accounts claimed he was moving toward Khartoum with forces and equipment. Defence Mena found no independent evidence of any troop or equipment movement linked to him.
The RSF’s denial
Al-Madar News and Al-Zawiya quoted the head of the RSF media department, Lieutenant Colonel (Eng.) Al-Tayeb Khalil, as saying the reports were “baseless.” He described them as a “malicious rumour” spread by “enemy rooms” to sow doubt and weaken cohesion in the force’s ranks. The denial was a direct response to Al-Hadath’s report. Neither side has published video or a signed statement from Bireish that would settle the question.
Why it matters
If confirmed, Bireish would be one of the most senior RSF officers to switch sides since the war began in April 2023. He is not a field commander with a known unit. His reported value is institutional: he was one of the army officers seconded to the RSF in 2013 to build its staff and logistics systems, and the reports place him in security and supply roles. That kind of knowledge of how the RSF is organised and supplied is what would make his move significant for the SAF, which is why the RSF moved quickly to deny it.
The reports come amid a run of announced defections that the two sides present very differently:
- On 8 October, RSF Special Tasks Group commander Lt. Col. Mohammed Azraq al-Fanjari announced his defection, saying he brought about 300 officers and soldiers and 30 combat vehicles with him (our earlier report).
- In late October, an RSF commander in Nyala said he had joined the army (Defence Mena coverage), and on 30 October Al Jazeera aired footage of RSF commander Siddiq Ander announcing he was leaving the group.
- On 2 November, the SAF said a group of RSF members, including a commander, had defected and surrendered to its 4th Infantry Division in Damazin, Blue Nile State.
Numbers in such announcements usually come from the defecting side or the army and are rarely verified independently. Defections are also used in information warfare by both camps, so a quick denial does not settle the matter either way.
For background on the two forces, see our guides to Sudan army ranks and how they differ from the RSF, who supplies drones to the army and the RSF, and the widening drone war in Sudan.
What is confirmed and what is not
- Reported: Multiple Sudanese outlets, Al-Hadath and Anadolu say Bireish announced he was joining the army on 10 November.
- Denied: The RSF media department says the reports are false.
- Not confirmed: Any SAF statement, any video or statement from Bireish, his current location, and any movement of troops or equipment with him.
- Unverified single-source claim: Al-Wafd’s report that he worked on a drone and communications deal in China for the RSF.
Defence Mena will update this report if the SAF or Bireish makes a public statement.
Sources
- Anadolu Agency, “Senior RSF commander defects to Sudanese army after 13 years with paramilitary group,” 10 November 2026 (citing Sudanese Echo).
- Al-Madar News (almadanews.com), report on the RSF media department’s denial, 10 November 2026.
- Al-Zawiya / Sudan Independent, “The truth about the defection of Lt. Gen. Khalid Bireish,” 10 November 2026 (citing Al-Hadath).
- SudaNews / Sudafax, report on the defection, 10 November 2026.
- Afaq News, report on the defection and earlier defections, 10 November 2026.
- Al-Wafd, report on Bireish’s announcement, 10 November 2026.
- Clash Report on X, post of 10 November 2026.