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A Sudanese court has ordered the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, to be executed after being found guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for his atrocities in the region. West Darfur.
The court, sitting in the military-controlled city of Port Sudan, also sentenced 15 other officers of the RSF, an armed group that has been locked in a war with the Sudanese army since 2023, to death on the same charges.
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The Sudan Founding Alliance, a political alliance that includes RSF, has reportedly rejected the decision, while Hemedti was tried in absentia and his whereabouts are unknown. The RSF itself has not directly commented on the decision but has repeatedly denied allegations of war crimes.
The decision was made at a time of economic crisis as the country’s ongoing war has displaced millions of people.
Here’s what we know:
What is the basis of this decision?
Sudan descended into civil war on April 15, 2023, after a major conflict between the army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Hemedti. Their soldiers had worked together before they rebelled against their weapons.
The dispute centered on how the RSF would be integrated into the regular army as Sudan tries to return to civilian rule. The fighting started in the capital Khartoum, and quickly spread across the country with RSF fighters taking control of the capital while the army maintained its heavy artillery and relied on its air superiority.
In West Darfur, the RSF and its allied forces have been accused of genocide, inhumane treatment, extortion and displacement of non-Arabs, particularly Massalit in El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur.
The situation began to change when the army began to fight the epidemic again, recapturing the city of Wad Madani, which is located in the east-central part of Sudan, and bypassing the capital of the country. In March 2025, it recaptured the palace and pushed the RSF out of Khartoum, dealing the army’s worst defeat in the war.
But the victory of the army in the capital did not end the conflict. Most of the time the war went west. The RSF consolidated its position in the greater Darfur region and captured El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur and the last military stronghold in the region, in October 2025. Fighting also spread across Kordofan, the main region connecting Darfur to central Sudan.
The latest alert has focused on El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state about 360km (224 miles) southwest of Khartoum, where the RSF has mobilized forces around one of the most important military bases in southwestern Sudan.
El-Obeid is at the crossroads of the roads connecting Sudan and Darfur with the southern countries of the country. Therefore, controlling the city can shape the movement of troops, weapons and equipment across multiple borders.
The United Kingdom and more than a dozen other countries have warned that up to half a million civilians face the risk of mass violence as fighting intensifies around El-Obeid. The United Nations says civilians have endured repeated sieges and attacks as the two sides battle for areas around the city.
Who is Hemedti?
Born around 1974 in the Mahariya branch of the Rizeigat group in Darfur, Hemedti rose to prominence through the Janjaweed, an Arab militia deployed by President Omar al-Bashir’s government in the Darfur conflict in the early 2000s.
In 2013, al-Bashir’s government brought many Janjaweed fighters into the newly formed RSF, placing Hemedti at its head.
Despite being one of al-Bashir’s strongest allies and benefiting politically and financially under his government, Hemedti joined the Sudanese military leadership in ousting the former president during the 2019 uprising.
Hemedti and al-Burhan later became the two leading political figures under the leadership of the Sudanese military. Together, they ousted a civilian-led transitional government in an October 2021 coup before their coalition broke down over the integration of the RSF into the army and control of the government, leading to the start of the Sudanese civil war.
What were Hemedti and other RSF leaders convicted of?
The Port Sudan case focused on the atrocities that took place in El-Geneina, including the killing of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abakar in June 2023.
The court found Mr. Hemedti and other defendants guilty of abusing civilians, mass destruction, theft, and targeting schools, places of worship, and residences.
Among those sentenced were Hemedti’s brother and deputy, Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo; another brother, al-Qoni Hamdan Dagalo; and the head of RSF for West Darfur, Abdul Rahman Juma Barkallah.
Judge Mohamed al-Amin ordered the confiscation of RSF’s assets and told authorities to search for Interpol red notices for their arrest and extradition.
This decision is the first decision by the senior leaders of the RSF since the beginning of the civil war. The outcome is still unclear, as the group controls much of western Sudan and those responsible cannot reach the military authorities.
International projects
International pressure has risen on the RSF outside the Sudanese courts when the United States recognized Hemedti after confirming that members of the RSF and allied militias had killed people in Sudan in January 2025.
The deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said this month that investigators found evidence of abuses in El-Geneina and El-Fasher against high-ranking RSF leaders, although the court did not publicly name the suspects.
On Wednesday, a UN investigation confirmed that the RSF committed genocide during the siege of El-Fasher, citing mass killings, gang rape, abductions and the deliberate use of starvation against civilians as part of a deliberate and systematic policy.
The RSF has denied genocide or war crimes.
The Sudanese military has also faced war crimes. UN investigators found that both the army and the RSF have carried out serious attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure.
