Arabic version: محكمة سودانية تحكم بالإعدام على زعيم قوات الدعم السريع

A Sudanese court in Port Sudan has sentenced Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, to death for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in connection with atrocities in West Darfur.

According to BBC News, Hemedti was convicted in absentia alongside 15 other senior Rapid Support Forces (RSF) members. The court found the defendants guilty of orchestrating attacks on civilians, widespread destruction and looting, and the targeting of schools, places of worship and residential neighbourhoods, including the June 2023 killing of West Darfur’s governor, Khamis Abbakar.

The defendants sentenced to death include Hemedti’s brother and deputy, Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo; another brother, Al-Qoni Hamdan Dagalo; and the RSF’s West Darfur commander, Abdul Rahman Juma Barkallah. Special Judge Mohamed Al-Amin ordered the confiscation of all RSF assets and instructed authorities to seek Interpol Red Notices for the arrest and extradition of those convicted. The Sudan Founding Alliance, which includes the RSF, described the verdict as a “sham trial”; the RSF has not directly commented on the ruling.

This ruling matters because it is the first judicial conviction of RSF leadership since civil war broke out in April 2023, and because the RSF continues to control large parts of western Sudan while its leaders remain beyond the army’s reach. Hemedti’s whereabouts are not publicly known, and the conflict has had a severe humanitarian toll: more than 150,000 people have died, about 12 million are estimated to have fled their homes, and aid agencies say around 28 million people face acute hunger.

What happens next: authorities were instructed to seek Interpol Red Notices for the arrest and extradition of those convicted. The court’s practical impact remains unclear given the RSF’s territorial control and the absence of custody for the defendants.

UN investigators and human rights organisations have accused the RSF and allied Arab militias of ethnically targeted attacks against the Masalit population in Darfur. The International Criminal Court’s deputy chief prosecutor has said there is “concrete evidence” linking RSF leaders to war crimes. A May 2024 Human Rights Watch report said the campaign in and around el-Geneina between April and November 2023 killed thousands and forced hundreds of thousands to flee, characterising the abuses as war crimes and crimes against humanity committed as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign against Masalit and other non-Arab communities. Both the Sudanese army and the RSF have been accused by United Nations investigators of targeting civilians and vital infrastructure.

Related sections: Arab | North Africa/شمال إفريقيا | General | World/العالم