As Sudan’s brutal civil war enters its third year, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) proved the restructuring of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), positioning themselves as an essential actor in any future security architecture even as they face military pushback and international condemnation. Since the conflict erupted in April 2023 between the SAF under General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemedti”), disputes over SAF reform and militia integration have been central to the fighting. The protracted struggle has left Sudan fractured, with both sides vying not only on the battlefield but also in the realm of political legitimacy.

The RSF’s asserts the restructuring of the SAF not simply as a technical reform of military institutions but as a broader reconstitution of state power, security, and governance. The SAF’s longstanding dominance has entrenched political exclusion and corruption, and traditional army hierarchies are portrayed as resistant to change and hostile to the interests of regions historically marginalized by Khartoum. This messaging seeks to justify the RSF’s continued existence as a parallel security institution and to position it as a champion of broader stakeholder inclusion.

On the battlefield, the RSF’s ability to influence Sudan’s military landscape has seen both tactical advances and setbacks. The RSF’s seizure of the Heglig oilfield in early December 2025 dealt a strategic blow to the SAF, disrupting key energy infrastructure and delivering a symbolic victory that the RSF has used to reinforce of being a consequential force in Sudan’s future security calculus.

As fighting continues across multiple fronts and humanitarian conditions worsen, the debate over SAF restructuring remains a central issue in Sudan’s future. The RSF seeks to redefine traditional military hierarchies and broaden the conception of security provision. Yet without agreement on disarmament and integration terms acceptable to both sides, as well as sustained diplomatic pressure, prospects for meaningful restructuring of Sudan’s armed forces — and the broader state apparatus  remain uncertain.