Sudan Court Sentences RSF Chief Hemedti to Death in Absentia

Africa · Geopolitics

Key Facts

—The verdict: A Port Sudan court sentenced RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) and 15 others to death in absentia on Sunday, per Middle East Monitor.

—The crime: The killing of West Darfur governor Khamis Abdullah Abkar on 14 June 2023, and atrocities committed in the city of El Geneina.

—A first: It is the first judicial ruling against the RSF leadership since Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023.

—Family affair: Hemedti’s brother and deputy Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo was among those sentenced to death by hanging.

—The battlefield: The ruling lands as RSF drones pound El Obeid, a besieged city of some 500,000 people, per the United Nations.

—The world reacts: The European Parliament voted 476-28 on 9 July to call for the RSF to be listed as a terrorist organisation.

A court in Port Sudan sentenced Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, and 15 other defendants to death in absentia on Sunday over the 2023 killing of West Darfur governor Khamis Abdullah Abkar. The Hemedti death sentence is the first judicial ruling against the paramilitary group’s leadership since Sudan’s civil war began in April 2023.

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What the court decided

The ruling came from the Anti-Terrorism and Crimes Against the State Court in Port Sudan, the Red Sea city where Sudan’s army-backed government now sits, per Middle East Monitor. The court sentenced Hemedti, his brother and deputy Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, and the other defendants to death by hanging.

The defendants were convicted under provisions covering war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes against persons and property during armed conflict, and genocide. Judges held Hemedti responsible for planning and directing the crimes, while Abdel Rahim was found guilty of planning and taking part in them.

Those convicted alongside them include another Dagalo brother, Al-Qouni Hamdan Al-Qouni, the RSF’s West Darfur commander Abdel-Rahman Jumaa, and tribal leader Al-Tijani Al-Taher Karshoum. All were tried in absentia and remain at large.

The killing behind the case

Khamis Abdullah Abkar was the governor of West Darfur state and a leader of the Masalit community. He was abducted and killed on 14 June 2023, hours after accusing the RSF on television of attacking civilians in his state capital, El Geneina.

The Sudanese government, the United Nations and international rights groups have accused the RSF of mass killings, forced displacement and ethnically targeted attacks on the Masalit in El Geneina. The RSF has denied responsibility for the governor’s death and rejects allegations of atrocities and genocide.

Justice from one side of a divided country

The verdict is a ruling by one side of the war against the leadership of the other. Sudan has effectively split in two since fighting broke out on 15 April 2023: the army controls the north and east, including Khartoum, while the RSF holds most of Darfur and parts of the south and west.

Because the defendants remain in RSF-held territory or abroad, the sentences are unenforceable for now. Their weight is political — they formalise the army’s position that the RSF leadership are criminals rather than negotiating partners, in a war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced an estimated 13 million people.

El Obeid: the war’s next front

The ruling landed as the RSF tightens its siege of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan and home to roughly 500,000 people. The United Nations says 15 drone strikes hit the city and its surroundings in the space of three weeks in June, killing at least 45 civilians.

The strikes have repeatedly hit markets, schools, fuel stations and water infrastructure. With the RSF controlling every route out of the city except to the east, aid agencies fear a repeat of El Fasher, the Darfur city that fell to the paramilitaries after a devastating siege.

A verdict that hardens the front lines

International pressure on the RSF is building. The European Parliament adopted a resolution on 9 July — by 476 votes to 28, with 96 abstentions — calling on the European Union to designate the RSF a terrorist organisation over the El Obeid siege, according to Sudan Tribune.

Yet the verdict also complicates diplomacy. A United States-backed peace plan has stalled over the army’s demand for a full RSF withdrawal from the cities it holds, and a death sentence against the men who would have to sign any deal gives both sides one more reason not to compromise.

For outsiders, the message is stark. The world’s worst humanitarian emergency now has a legal war running alongside the shooting war, and both are pushing a negotiated end further out of reach.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Hemedti and what was he sentenced for?

Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, commands Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces. A Port Sudan court sentenced him and 15 others to death in absentia over the June 2023 killing of West Darfur governor Khamis Abdullah Abkar and atrocities in El Geneina.

Why was the trial held in Port Sudan?

Port Sudan on the Red Sea has served as the seat of Sudan’s army-backed government since fighting devastated Khartoum. The court is part of the army-aligned judiciary, and the RSF does not recognise its authority.

Will the death sentences be carried out?

Not while the defendants remain at large. All 16 were tried in absentia and are in RSF-held territory or abroad, so the ruling is chiefly a political and legal marker unless they are ever captured.

What is happening in El Obeid?

The RSF is besieging the North Kordofan capital of about 500,000 people. The UN says 15 drone strikes in three weeks of June killed at least 45 civilians, and the European Parliament has called for the RSF to be listed as a terrorist organisation.

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