Popular Defence Forces

The origins and formulation of the Popular Defence Forces goes back to 1985 after an attack on the village of al-Gardud in Kordofan state in July 1985 during the Second Sudanese Civil War.

Following the attack, a government delegation to the area led by Minister of Defence Major General Burma Fadlallah Nasir was presented with a choice by native administration leaders: either provide security for the Arab Baggara communities of South Darfur and South Kordofan, or these communities would request such guarantees from the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and consequently join the civil war against the government. Unable to redeploy the demoralised and overstretched Sudanese military in southern Sudan, the delegation made a decision—without the authorization of the national Constituent Assembly—to arm the Baggara. Truckloads of ammunition and light weapons, mostly AK-47s and G3 rifles, were distributed directly to members of allied tribes, specifically the Rizeigat and the Misseriya Humr, through native administrative structures and leaders.{{Cite journal |last=Salmon |first=Jago |date=December 2007 |title=A Paramilitary Revolution: The Popular Defence Forces |journal=Small Arms Survey |isbn=978-2-8288-0088-8}} it was also part of the Sudanese Armed Forces.

In 2004, the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress estimated that the Popular Defence Forces consisted of 10,000 active members, with 85,000 reserves.{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Sudan.pdf|title=Library of Congress Country Profile Sudan|date=December 2004|publisher=Memory.loc.gov|access-date=2015-10-27}} It had been deployed alongside regular army units against various rebel groups.

In 2020, rumors were circulating that the Sudanese Armed Forces had absorbed the former PDF. However, the SAF instead stated that the PDF had been dissolved and its headquarters seized.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/sudan-armed-forces-popular-defence-forces-dissolved-not-absorbed|title = Sudan Armed Forces: 'Popular Defence Forces dissolved, not absorbed'}} During the current civil war, the PDF was reorganised under Kafi Tayara and fought alongside the SAF in South Kordofan against the SPLM-N and the Rapid Support Forces.{{cite web|url=https://sudanwarmonitor.com/p/splm-n-and-popular-defense-forces|title=SPLM-N and Popular Defense Forces field commanders meet in South Kordofan|website=Sudan War Monitor|date=14 October 2023|accessdate=5 January 2024}}

The force had close links with the National Islamic Front associated with former president Omar al-Bashir, and was originally formed as a dedicated Islamist militia. In 2015, the PDF largely operated as a reserve force for the Sudanese Armed Forces.{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/4f15182d2.html |title=Sudan: The Popular Defence Forces (PDF), including whether it is affiliated with the military; maximum age of conscription into the PDF and whether there are exemptions from service; whether individuals must serve for a three-month period, regardless of age, sex and medical condition, to keep their job and pension; whether those who had served with the PDF for three months had to report to police stations in June 2008 for further service; if so, consequences for not reporting |publisher=Refworld |date= |access-date=2015-10-27}} Upon its foundation in 1989, several tribal militias throughout Sudan were integrated into the PDF, including the Messiria tribe's murahiliin, the Rizeigat tribe's fursan, and the Fertit Army of Peace.{{sfnp|Rone|1996|p=275}} It continued to absorb more militias over its existence, such as the Hawazma ethnic militia that fought alongside the SAF in the Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.{{Cite news |url=https://acleddata.com/2023/11/03/sudan-situation-update-november-2023-the-rsf-expands-its-territorial-control-as-ceasefire-talks-resume-in-jeddah/ |title=Sudan: RSF Expands Territorial Control as Ceasefire Talks Resume in Jeddah |language=en |work=ACLED |date=3 November 2023 |access-date=14 December 2023 }}

• Al-Bara' ibn Malik Brigade, a paramilitary Islamist militia in Sudan
• Muraheleen, Baggara Arabs militia employed by different Sudanese governments since 1983

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book

|last = Rone

|first = Janera

|title=Behind the Red Line: Political Repression in Sudan

|language=

|url=

|date= 1996

|publisher= Human Rights Watch

|location= New York City

|isbn=

}}

Category:Arab militant groups

Category:Pro-government militia in Sudan

Category:Sudanese civil war (2023–present)

Category:Organizations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood