Command, allied forces and mobilisation · armed group coalition · Sudan
Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements
Allied force or mobilisation network
AGrade A: Official recordStrongest record: official record
8 documented ties · 1 step from the SAF
Also recorded as: Joint Forces; Darfur Joint Protection Force; القوة المشتركة; JEM (Gebreil Ibrahim); SLM/A-Minni Minnawi; SLA-Tambour; GSLF; SLA-Transitional Council (SAF-aligned faction); …
Allied with SAF since Nov 2023; leaders hold state office (Gebreil Ibrahim, JEM - Finance Minister; Minni Minnawi, SLM-MM - Darfur governor). OFAC on JEM: 'has contributed thousands of its followers to fight the RSF, leading to the destruction of Sudanese towns and the deaths and displacement of thousands of Sudanese civilians'; Gebreil 'collaborated with the Iranian Government'. UN SG CAAC (2024): abduction of 1 child by 'the Sudanese Armed Forces-aligned Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements'; sexual violence against 1 child by SLA-Minni Minawi; 9 boys recruited by SLA/Transitional Council. WAR ECONOMY: GI-TOC - SLA-MM imposed in-kind taxes on fuel, food and goods at al-Muthalath in mid-2023; Sudan Tribune - joint armed movements run checkpoints on the Debba-El Fasher axis (1,200-2,000 SDG cash/fuel per truck); Chatham House lists 'the Darfur armed movements' among non-state armed actors involved in the gold sector. DRUGS (weak): STPT - 'Many members of the Darfur Joint Protection Forces ... have also been involved in smuggling drugs, particularly bango and narcotic pills, into SAF-controlled areas', citing one source inside a rival SAF-aligned militia. EASTERN DEPLOYMENT: SLM-MM and JEM graduated 1,000+ fighters each in Gedaref/Kassala (EUAA); Dabanga lists SLM-MM among groups training in Eritrea. FOREIGN FIGHTERS: Chadian Zaghawa fighters under Ousmane Dillo joined SAF-aligned Zaghawa groups in Darfur (GI-TOC Chad 2025; ACSS).
Their response
None quoted by the Panel on these points.
(d) SLM-MM spokesperson denied the movement was connected to arrests in El Fasher and said 'the Joint Force Intelligence is the one carrying out the arrests'. (e) A Joint Force military source denied its forces looted in the desert and blamed 'armed groups [that] exploit the current situation'. (f) the officer's 'war booty' claim.
Records
4
Each record carries its own grade. A grade describes the source for that record, not the actor.
AGrade A: Official record
Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements (Darfur Joint Forces)
2023-11 to 2026mixed sourcing
This record documents sexual and gender-based violence. It is hidden until you choose to read it.
Joint Force - locally reported rackets: checkpoint levies, in-kind fuel tax, home looting, detention-for-ransom, livestock raiding, copper
2023-12 to 2026-06
›This record describes attacks on civilians. Show
SAF-aligned (see UN Panel entry). Local reporting: (a) Darfur24, 28 Feb 2024: truck owners said there were 'more than 25 gates' between El Fasher and Mellit; 'the army has more than 12 checkpoints, the armed movements more than 11' and RSF 4, each taking at least SDG 3,000 'without any legal basis'; a state finance ministry source said the checkpoints 'operate with the knowledge of the state governor'. 6 Apr 2024: a driver said the army had 'more than 6' checkpoints inside El Fasher collecting SDG 2,000 each. (b) Darfur24, 4 Dec 2023: a fuel importer said 'of every 90 barrels ... we pay 19 barrels at the gates inside Sudan' before Mellit; Darfur24 located gates of GSLF (al-Tahir Hajar), SLA-Minawi and SLA-TC (al-Hadi Idris) that 'collect fuel instead of cash and sell it in Mellit'. NB: two of those three factions stayed neutral or later aligned with the RSF. (c) Darfur24, 8 Jul 2024: residents accused Joint Force members of stripping homes in El Fasher; 'A military commander ... confirmed that they had received complaints'. (d) Darfur24, 23 Jul 2024: ex-detainees described Joint Force detention at the former UNAMID HQ, deaths from hunger and torture; a police officer said the Joint Force 'began accumulating funds from these arbitrary arrests after demanding that the detainees' families pay ransom'. (e) Darfur24, 7 Dec 2024: a herders' representative accused the Joint Force of killing two herders and looting camels and sheep near Wadi Howar; Darfur24 viewed a video. (f) Sudan Akhbar, 17 Mar 2026 (police sources; original outlet not identified): two copper shipments (15 and 30 sacks) seized in Gedaref from Joint Force personnel; an officer of brigadier rank claimed the men and called the vehicle 'war booty'; copper was moving from El Gezira to Kassala for export. (g) Sudan Akhbar, 11 Jun 2026: Civil Alliance for Eastern Sudan statement on clashes at Wadi al-Arak (Red Sea State) between an army unit and Joint Force elements, 'according to local information' over 'illegal collection points set up by the Joint Force'.
Why this grade
C (a-e: single outlet, Darfur24, named and anonymous local sources, partly matching UN Panel findings); D (f, g: aggregator re-publication, original not identified)
Response
(d) SLM-MM spokesperson denied the movement was connected to arrests in El Fasher and said 'the Joint Force Intelligence is the one carrying out the arrests'. (e) A Joint Force military source denied its forces looted in the desert and blamed 'armed groups [that] exploit the current situation'. (f) the officer's 'war booty' claim.
Sanctions
See UN Panel entry.
›Research notes
Do not name the low-level individuals quoted in these reports. Items (f) and (g) need the original source located before use. No officer is named in the copper report.
Joint Force members and vehicles in drug and contraband cases in SAF-held states (June 2026, official statements relayed by Sudan Tribune)
June 2026
SAF-allied force. (1) Gezira: the Al Jazirah State Security Committee said on 18 Jun 2026 that two intelligence personnel were killed and 13 injured when an anti-smuggling vehicle overturned while chasing a vehicle that ran a checkpoint near Wad Madani; 'security forces seized two vehicles belonging to the allied forces laden with smuggled goods, and legal proceedings have been initiated', and all checkpoints in the state were ordered closed. Sudan Tribune identifies the group as the Joint Force and the cargo (photo caption) as smuggled cigarettes. (2) River Nile: Sudan Tribune says police there 'reported seizing a large quantity of narcotic pills and arresting several individuals identified as members of the same Joint Force' the week before. (3) Red Sea: police said two members of an 'outlaw group' were killed resisting a raid on drug dens in Souq Libya, Port Sudan, and that one of the dead belonged to the Sudan Liberation Movement within the Joint Force (Sudan Tribune Arabic, 27 Jun 2026). Sudan Tribune adds, in its own voice, that the Joint Force 'faces mounting accusations of involvement in drug, cigarette, and human trafficking across several states'.
Response
No Joint Force, SLM-MM or JEM response found (one Arabic search; none in the articles).
Sanctions
JEM leader Gebreil Ibrahim is OFAC-designated (12 Sep 2025) on other grounds; no listing relates to these cases.
›Research notes
All three items reach us through one outlet, though each relays an official statement (state security committee; River Nile police; Red Sea police). The River Nile police statement itself was not found. No named commander, no charge sheet and no court outcome located. 'Human trafficking' is Sudan Tribune's characterisation, with no case cited.
allied force whose members and vehicles were seized in contraband and drug cases by state security bodies in SAF-held Gezira, River Nile and Red Sea states · June 2026
Al Jazirah State Security Committee: two intelligence personnel killed and 13 injured chasing a smuggling vehicle near Wad Madani; two vehicles 'belonging to the allied forces' seized; Sudan Tribune identifies the group as the Joint Force. sudantribune.com↗
CGrade C: Single source
Red Sea State police chief reports 430 kg of methamphetamine seized; police say one man killed in a raid on drug dens in Port Sudan belonged to the Sudan Liberation Movement in the Joint Force. sudantribune.net↗
CGrade C: Single source
2 more events below grade A (corroborated, single-source or unverified). Change “Evidence shown” to see them.
2 more events at grade C (single source) or D (unverified lead). Change “Evidence shown” to see them.
Geography
Tags come from the recorded jurisdiction and from place names in the records. Coordinates on the map are approximate.
Based in
Sudan
Also named
Libya (4), Chad (4), Egypt (1), Iran (1), Eritrea (1)
Places
Port Sudan, Khartoum, Kassala, Gedaref, El Fasher, Wad Madani / Gezira, Tina, River Nile State, Red Sea State, Darfur
Position in the network
Derived by analysing the documented relationships. Nothing in this section is a finding.
Still connected to the SAF when only official records are counted. Ranks 13 in the file for how often it sits on the shortest documented chain between two others.