A Sudanese court has sentenced Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, widely known as Hemedti, and 15 others to death in absentia over war crimes, genocide and the killing of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abbakar.
The ruling, delivered by a court in the army-controlled city of Port Sudan, marks the first conviction of senior RSF leaders since Sudan descended into civil war in April 2023.
According to Sudan’s state news agency SUNA, the court found Daglo, his brother and deputy Abdelrahim Hamdan Daglo, several RSF commanders and tribal leaders from Arab communities in West Darfur guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and attacks on civilians and public infrastructure.
The case stems from the killing of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abbakar in June 2023, shortly after RSF forces captured El-Geneina, the regional capital. Abbakar was murdered hours after publicly accusing the RSF and allied militias of targeting civilians in ethnically motivated attacks.
United Nations experts have estimated that between 10,000 and 15,000 people, predominantly from the Massalit ethnic community, were killed during the violence that engulfed El-Geneina.
The RSF has consistently denied allegations of genocide and other war crimes throughout the conflict.
The court said the judgment would be forwarded to Sudan’s Supreme Court for review and that efforts would be made to secure the arrest and extradition of those convicted through Interpol and other international mechanisms.
The convictions come as Sudan’s devastating conflict enters its fourth year. The war erupted after a power struggle between army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo over plans to integrate the paramilitary force into the national army.
Ironically, the two leaders had jointly seized power in a 2021 military coup that ended Sudan’s civilian-led transition before their alliance collapsed into open conflict.
The war has since claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced more than 11 million people and created what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis.
