Port Sudan, Sudan (Running Africa) — A Sudanese court has sentenced Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, and 15 other individuals to death in absentia over the killing of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abbakar and a series of alleged war crimes committed during Sudan’s ongoing conflict.
The ruling, delivered on 13 July 2026, marks the first conviction targeting senior leaders of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since civil war erupted between the paramilitary group and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in April 2023.
Among those sentenced was Hemedti’s brother and deputy, Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, along with several RSF commanders and tribal leaders from West Darfur.
The court found the defendants guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and attacks against civilians and public infrastructure during the conflict in Darfur.
The case centers on the killing of Khamis Abbakar, who was abducted and killed in June 2023, shortly after RSF forces seized El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur.
Hours before his death, Abbakar publicly accused the RSF and allied militias of carrying out widespread attacks against civilians in the region.
According to United Nations experts, between 10,000 and 15,000 people, the majority from the Massalit ethnic community, were killed during the violence in El Geneina, making it one of the deadliest episodes of Sudan’s ongoing war.
Sudanese authorities said the convictions will now be reviewed by the country’s Supreme Court, while efforts are underway to secure the arrest and extradition of those convicted through international legal channels.
Sudan’s conflict began after a power struggle between Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Hemedti, whose alliance fractured following the 2021 military coup.
Since fighting erupted in April 2023, the war has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced more than 11 million people, and fueled what the United Nations has described as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The landmark ruling represents a significant development in Sudan’s pursuit of accountability for atrocities committed during the conflict, although analysts note that enforcing the sentences will depend on whether those convicted can be apprehended.
