A Sudanese court has sentenced Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, to death in absentia over war crimes,
A Sudanese court has sentenced Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, to death in absentia over war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the conflict in West Darfur.
The Anti-Terrorism and Crimes Against the State Court in Port Sudan, a city under army control, also handed down the same sentence to 15 other senior RSF figures, marking the first judicial conviction of the paramilitary group’s leadership since Sudan’s civil war began in April 2023.
The case centred on the killing of West Darfur governor Khamis Abbakar in June 2023, shortly after RSF forces seized the regional capital, El Geneina.
Judges found the defendants guilty of orchestrating attacks on civilians, large-scale destruction and looting, and the targeting of schools, places of worship and residential areas.
Among those convicted alongside Hemedti were his brother and deputy, Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, another brother, Al-Qoni Hamdan Dagalo, and the RSF’s West Darfur commander, Abdul Rahman Juma Barkallah.
The court ordered the confiscation of the group’s assets and said it would pursue Interpol Red Notices to seek their arrest and extradition.
The ruling comes as the RSF continues to face mounting accusations internationally, with UN investigators concluding the group carried out genocide during its siege and capture of El Fasher, and the International Criminal Court’s deputy prosecutor saying investigators have gathered strong evidence tying Darfur atrocities to the group’s top leadership.
The RSF has consistently denied committing war crimes or genocide, and the Sudan Founding Alliance, the political coalition that includes the group, dismissed the trial as illegitimate.
With Hemedti’s whereabouts unknown and the RSF still controlling large parts of western Sudan, the practical impact of the verdict remains uncertain, though it stands as a significant symbolic milestone in efforts to hold the group’s leadership accountable for a war that has displaced more than 14 million people and pushed millions toward famine.
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