PORT SUDAN — A Sudanese court has sentenced Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, and 15 other RSF members to death in absentia over their alleged involvement in the killing of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abdallah Abakar in 2023.
The ruling was delivered on Sunday by a court in Port Sudan, where legal proceedings were held over the assassination of Abakar, who was abducted and killed in June 2023 amid intense fighting and ethnic violence in Sudan’s western Darfur region.
Prosecutors accused Hemedti and senior RSF figures of being responsible for the attack that resulted in Abakar’s death. The governor had publicly criticized armed groups over widespread killings and deteriorating security conditions in West Darfur shortly before he was killed.
Abakar’s killing drew international condemnation and increased scrutiny of the violence taking place in Darfur, a region that has a history of conflict and humanitarian crises. Rights groups and international organizations have documented allegations of serious abuses, including attacks against civilians and ethnic communities during the ongoing war.
The defendants were tried in absentia because they remain outside the control of Sudanese authorities. The court’s decision represents one of the strongest legal actions taken against RSF leadership since the outbreak of Sudan’s civil war in April 2023.
The conflict began after a power struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, plunging the country into a devastating war. Fighting has killed large numbers of people, displaced millions, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies.
The RSF has faced widespread accusations of war crimes, including alleged atrocities in Darfur, while the group has repeatedly denied some of the allegations and accused its opponents of similar violations.
The death sentences are unlikely to be immediately enforced because Hemedti and the other convicted RSF members are not in government custody. However, the verdict could increase political and international pressure on the RSF leadership as Sudan’s conflict continues.
