Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces Leader Sentenced to Death in Absentia

The Sudanese court in Port Sudan has sentenced Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo – the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – to death for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed in West Darfur.

In an in‑absentia trial held under army control, Dagalo, known by the nickname Hemedti, and fifteen other senior RSF officers were found guilty for the June 2023 killing of state governor Khamis Abbakar, attacks on civilians, widespread looting, and the targeting of schools, places of worship and residential neighbourhoods in the regional capital El‑Geneina.

RSF, still controlling large areas of western Sudan, has denied responsibility for alleged atrocities and called the trial a “sham.” The court ordered the confiscation of all RSF assets and called for Interpol Red Notices to arrest the condemned.

This conviction is the first judicial sanction against RSF leadership since the civil war ignited in April 2023, a conflict that has already forced around 12 million people to flee and left an estimated 28 million civilians in acute hunger.

International and human‑rights organisations, including the UN and Human Rights Watch, have repeatedly accused the RSF of ethnically targeted attacks against the Masalit community in Darfur.