Popular Defence Forces - Wikipedia. The Popular Defense Forces (PDF, Arabic: قوات الدفاع الشعبي, romanized: Qūwāt al-Difāʻ al-Shaʻbī) are a Sudanese paramilitary force, the formulation of the 'Popular Defence' policy in Sudan goes back to 1985 after an attack on the village of al-Gardud in Kordofan state in July 1985, Following the attack, a government delegation to ...