A Sudanese court has sentenced Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, to death in absentia. The ruling was delivered by an anti-terrorism court in Port Sudan on Sunday. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, a group locked in a brutal civil war with Sudan’s army.
This verdict marks the first judicial conviction against the RSF leadership since the war began in April 2023. Alongside Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, fifteen other senior commanders received the same sentence. The case centers on the 2023 killing of a regional governor in West Darfur.
Background
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo was born around 1974 in the Darfur region of western Sudan. He belongs to the Mahariya branch of the Rizeigat tribe, a camel-herding Arab community with roots stretching between Darfur and Chad. His family reportedly moved into Darfur during the 1980s while fleeing conflict and drought.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo had very little formal schooling, leaving education around the third grade. He worked as a camel trader before joining the Janjaweed militia in the early 2000s. His rise from a militia foot soldier to a general came through years of counterinsurgency operations backed by former president Omar al-Bashir.
By 2013, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo had been placed in charge of the newly formed Rapid Support Forces. The RSF quickly grew into one of the most powerful armed groups in Sudan, eventually rivaling the national army itself. That rivalry exploded into open war in April 2023.
Details
The Port Sudan court convicted Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The charges relate specifically to the killing of West Darfur governor Khamis Abbakar in June 2023, shortly after RSF forces captured the state capital, El Geneina.
Governor Abbakar was killed a day after publicly accusing the RSF of attacking civilians in the city. Sudanese authorities and international investigators say the violence in El Geneina targeted the Masalit ethnic community and may amount to ethnic cleansing.
Court authorities said the case will now move to Sudan’s Supreme Court for review. Officials also stated they intend to pursue Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo’s arrest through Interpol and other international channels, though his current location remains unknown.
Because the trial took place in absentia, the sentence carries mostly symbolic and diplomatic weight for now. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo remains outside the reach of the Sudanese state, with the RSF still controlling large parts of Darfur.
Quotes
Sudan researcher Adel Abdel Ghafar has previously told Al Jazeera that Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo’s business interests expanded significantly with support from Bashir’s government, growing to include gold mining, livestock, and infrastructure holdings.
An International Criminal Court official said earlier this month that investigators have gathered substantial evidence connecting RSF commanders to war crimes committed during the conflict.
The RSF itself has not issued an official comment on the death sentence handed to Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The group has consistently denied committing genocide or systematic war crimes throughout the conflict.
Impact
The ruling against Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo is unlikely to change the military situation on the ground in the short term. The RSF continues to hold significant territory across Darfur, and Sudan’s civil war remains active in several regions.
Regionally, the verdict adds legal pressure on countries accused of backing the RSF, including reported financial and material support from the United Arab Emirates, which Emirati officials have denied. It may also strengthen international calls for accountability.
For millions of displaced Sudanese civilians, the sentence offers a symbolic step toward justice. However, humanitarian organizations continue to warn that the broader crisis, including mass displacement and hunger, remains far from resolved.
Conclusion
The death sentence against Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo represents a historic legal milestone in Sudan’s ongoing civil war, even though enforcement remains uncertain. Analysts expect the case to move forward through appeals and international pressure campaigns in the coming months.
As the RSF and Sudanese army continue fighting, further developments involving Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo’s legal status, his whereabouts, and any response from the RSF are expected to shape the next phase of the conflict.
Reader Questions About Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo
What is Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo’s religion?
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo belongs to the Rizeigat tribe, an Arab community in Sudan that is predominantly Muslim. Like the vast majority of people from this region and tribal background, he is widely reported to practice Islam.
What is Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo’s net worth?
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo is frequently described by researchers and journalists as one of the wealthiest men in Sudan, largely through gold mining and trading interests linked to his family’s company. However, no independently verified net worth figure has been published, and estimates vary widely across different reports.
What is the main problem in Sudan?
Sudan is engulfed in a civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The conflict, which began in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than eleven million, creating one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
