Sudanese Court Sentences RSF Leader Dagalo to Death in Absentia Over Darfur War Crimes

Sudanese Court Sentences RSF Leader Dagalo to Death in Absentia Over Darfur War Crimes
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A Sudanese court has sentenced Rapid Support Forces leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and 15 others to death in absentia over the killing of West Darfur governor Khamis Abbakar and crimes committed during the conflict in Darfur, state media reported.

The ruling, issued on Sunday by a court in Port Sudan, marks the first death sentence against the leadership of the RSF since war erupted between the paramilitary group and the Sudanese army in April 2023.

According to Sudan’s state news agency SUNA, the court convicted Dagalo and the other defendants of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and attacks on civilians and public facilities.

Those sentenced include Dagalo’s brother and deputy, Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, along with several RSF officers and tribal leaders from Arab communities in West Darfur.

The case centers on the killing of Governor Khamis Abbakar in June 2023, shortly after RSF forces seized El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. Abbakar was killed hours after accusing the RSF and allied militias of carrying out attacks against civilians.

UN experts previously estimated that between 10,000 and 15,000 people, mostly from the Massalit ethnic group, were killed in El-Geneina during the violence. The RSF has repeatedly denied accusations of genocide and other war crimes.