Popular Defence Forces

The Popular Defense Forces (PDF, Arabic: قوات الدفاع الشعبي‎) was a paramilitary force established under the Popular Defense Forces Act of 1989,[1] it was also part of the Sudanese Armed Forces before its dissolution in 2019 following the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir.

Popular Defence Forces
قوات الدفاع الشعبي
Emblem of the Popular Defence Forces
Active1989–2019
Country Sudan
AllegianceNational Congress
(formerly the National Islamic Front)
EngagementsSecond Sudanese Civil War
War in Darfur
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Ali Ahmed Karti
(Commander in the 1990s)

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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4] 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 confirmed that the PDF had been dissolved and its headquarters seized.[5]

References
  1. John Pike. "Sudan - Popular Defense Force". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  2. "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". Refworld. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  3. Rone (1996), p. 275.
  4. "Library of Congress Country Profile Sudan" (PDF). Memory.loc.gov. December 2004. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  5. https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/sudan-armed-forces-popular-defence-forces-dissolved-not-absorbed

Bibliography
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