Sudan court sentences RSF leader Hemetti to death over West Darfur killings
July 12, 2026 (PORT SUDAN) – A Sudanese counter-terrorism court on Sunday sentenced Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemetti, to death in absentia along with his two brothers and 13 others over the assassination of a regional governor and wartime atrocities.
The rulings follow convictions for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed in the city of El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state.
West Darfur Governor Khamis Abakar was killed in June 2023 shortly after RSF fighters detained him and brought him to their local headquarters in the presence of the regional commander, Abdul Rahman Juma Barkallah. Video footage later circulated online showing his body being mutilated.
The judge at the court in Port Sudan said the death sentences were handed down against Hemetti, his brothers Abdelrahim Dagalo and Al-Qoni Hamdan Dagalo, and 13 other prominent figures.
The convict list includes Barkallah, former deputy governor El-Tijani Al-Tahir Karshoum, current RSF state commander Idris Hassan Haroun, several Arab tribal leaders, and a pro-RSF activist.
The 16 defendants were convicted under Sudan’s criminal code for crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes against individuals, destruction of public property, and using prohibited methods of warfare.
The court ordered the confiscation of all RSF assets in favour of the Sudanese government and instructed the state to request Interpol notices to secure the extradition of the convicted individuals.
The judge stated that these international crimes are not subject to any statute of limitations and cannot be subject to political pardons under Sudan’s international obligations.
The court found Hemetti legally responsible for the systematic destruction and looting of property, as well as deliberate attacks on civilians, residential areas, schools, and places of worship.
Abdelrahim Dagalo was convicted of planning the siege of El Geneina, inflicting harsh living conditions on residents, forcing civilian displacement, and participating in genocidal acts against the Masalit ethnic group.
The judge found Al-Qoni Dagalo responsible for facilitating the assault on El Geneina while knowing that atrocities were being committed by paramilitary forces.
Barkallah was convicted of leading the RSF and allied militias during systematic assaults on Masalit neighbourhoods, which human rights monitors estimate killed thousands of people.
The attacks in mid-2023 forced tens of thousands of Masalit residents to flee El Geneina and other parts of West Darfur on foot, seeking refuge across the border in eastern Chad.