Key facts
- A Sudanese court sentenced RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and 15 others to death in absentia for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
- The convictions relate to atrocities in West Darfur, including the killing of Governor Khamis Abdullah Abakar.
- This is the first judicial conviction of RSF leadership since the war began in April 2023.
- The court ordered the confiscation of RSF assets and requested Interpol red notices for the convicted.
- Human Rights Watch has described actions in el-Geneina as ethnic cleansing and possibly genocide.
A Sudanese court in Port Sudan has sentenced Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, and 15 other defendants to death in absentia. The ruling, issued by an anti-terrorism and crimes against the state court, found them guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide related to atrocities in West Darfur.
The trial focused heavily on the 2023 assassination of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abdullah Abakar, who had denounced an RSF shelling. Human Rights Watch has described the events in el-Geneina, the region's capital, as ethnic cleansing and potentially genocide against the Masalit people and other non-Arab communities.
This marks the first judicial conviction of the RSF's leadership since the conflict began in April 2023. The court ordered the confiscation of RSF assets and requested Interpol red notices for the arrested individuals. Among those sentenced were Dagalo's brothers, Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo and Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa.
The judgment comes as the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced a breakthrough in its own investigations into crimes in West Darfur. Separately, twelve Sudanese victims have filed a complaint in Kenya seeking prosecution of RSF members under the principle of universal jurisdiction, challenging Kenya's alleged partnership with the RSF.