A Sudanese court in Port Sudan has sentenced Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, popularly known as Hemdedti, to death for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
The court, presided over by Judge Al-Mu’izz Babiker, issued death sentences against Hemedti and 15 other RSF commanders and officials on Sunday, July 12.
The other 15 include Hemedti’s brother and deputy, Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, as well as several RSF officers and tribal leaders from Arab communities in West Darfur.
The case stems from the killing of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abbakar in June 2023, shortly after RSF fighters captured El-Geneina, the state capital.
Abbakar was killed just hours after publicly accusing the RSF and its allied militias of carrying out attacks against civilians.
According to UN experts, between 10,000 and 15,000 people, most of them from the Massalit ethnic community, were killed during the violence that engulfed El-Geneina.
The court also ordered the confiscation of all RSF assets and instructed the authorities to seek Interpol Red Notices for the arrest and extradition of those convicted.
The RSF has not yet issued any comment on the sentences by the Sudanese court.
Sudan has been engulfed in civil war since April 2023, when a fierce power struggle between Sudanese Armed Forces chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Hemedti erupted into open conflict.
The conflict between the two factions began with the Battle of Khartoum, and fighting then spread to the Darfur region.
As of July 2026, the conflict has forcibly displaced over 14 million people, with 4.5 million fleeing the country as refugees, making it one of the largest displacement crises in recent history.
The conflict has also claimed the lives of more than 150,000 people, with 61,000 people having died in Khartoum State alone.
