KHARTOUM, Sudan – A Sudanese court has sentenced Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, popularly known as Hemedti, to death in absentia after finding him guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide linked to atrocities committed in Sudan’s West Darfur region.
The ruling, delivered by a court in the army-controlled city of Port Sudan, also handed death sentences to 15 senior RSF commanders accused of leading attacks against civilians during the country’s devastating civil war.
Among those convicted are Hemedti’s brother and deputy, Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, his brother Al-Qoni Hamdan Dagalo, and the RSF’s West Darfur commander Abdul Rahman Juma Barkallah.
The case focused on alleged crimes committed in the West Darfur capital of el-Geneina, including the June 2023 killing of then-governor Khamis Abbakar, whose death drew widespread international condemnation.
According to the court, the convicted commanders orchestrated attacks targeting civilians, destroyed and looted property, and deliberately attacked schools, places of worship and residential neighbourhoods during the conflict.
Special Judge Mohamed Al-Amin ordered the confiscation of RSF assets and directed Sudanese authorities to pursue Interpol Red Notices to facilitate the arrest and extradition of those convicted.
The RSF has not publicly responded to the latest ruling. However, the paramilitary group has consistently denied allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses throughout the conflict.
The judgment marks the first criminal conviction of the RSF’s top leadership since Sudan descended into civil war in April 2023 following a bitter power struggle between Sudanese Armed Forces chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Hemedti.
Despite the landmark ruling, its practical impact remains uncertain as the RSF continues to control significant parts of western Sudan, while Hemedti’s whereabouts remain unknown.
International investigators have repeatedly accused the RSF and allied Arab militias of carrying out ethnically motivated attacks against the Masalit community in Darfur.
Earlier this month, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) said they had gathered “concrete evidence” linking senior RSF leaders to alleged war crimes committed during the conflict.
Human Rights Watch previously reported that attacks in and around el-Geneina between April and November 2023 killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
The rights group said the violence amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign targeting the Masalit and other non-Arab communities.
The Sudanese army has also faced allegations of serious human rights violations. United Nations investigators have accused both the military and the RSF of attacking civilians and critical infrastructure, including hospitals and healthcare facilities.
The conflict has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with more than 150,000 people killed, approximately 12 million displaced and an estimated 28 million facing acute hunger, according to humanitarian agencies.
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