Key facts
- Sudanese court sentenced RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo to death in absentia for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
- The verdict relates to atrocities in West Darfur, including the killing of governor Khamis Abbakar.
- Fifteen other senior RSF members, including Dagalo's brothers, received the same sentence.
- The court ordered the confiscation of RSF assets and sought Interpol Red Notices for the convicted.
- This is the first judicial conviction of RSF leadership since the civil war started in April 2023.
A Sudanese court in Port Sudan has sentenced Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to death in absentia for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The ruling, issued by a special judge, also imposed the same sentence on 15 other senior RSF members, including Dagalo's brothers and the RSF's West Darfur commander. The convictions stem from alleged atrocities committed in the regional capital of el-Geneina, including the killing of the state governor, Khamis Abbakar, in June 2023, as well as widespread attacks on civilians, destruction of property, and targeting of civilian infrastructure.
The court ordered the confiscation of all RSF assets and requested Interpol Red Notices for the arrest and extradition of those convicted. This verdict represents the first judicial conviction of the RSF's leadership since the civil war erupted in April 2023. However, its practical impact is uncertain, as the RSF continues to control significant parts of western Sudan and its leaders remain beyond the army's reach.
UN investigators and human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have accused the RSF and allied Arab militias of carrying out ethnically targeted attacks against the Masalit population in Darfur. A Human Rights Watch report from May 2024 detailed thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands displaced in and around el-Geneina between April and November 2023, characterizing the abuses as war crimes and crimes against humanity amounting to ethnic cleansing.
Both the Sudanese army and the RSF have faced accusations of committing human rights abuses and war crimes. Last year, UN investigators found both sides to have targeted civilians and vital infrastructure. Sudan's civil war began in April 2023 due to a power struggle between army leader Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Hemedti, resulting in over 150,000 deaths and 12 million people displaced.