Sudan Charges Hemedti, Brother With Genocide and Governor’s Murder

Sudan has indicted RSF leader Hemedti, his brother, and others for the killing of West Darfur’s governor and genocide. The U.S. declared RSF actions as genocide and imposed sanctions, while the ICC plans arrests. The ongoing conflict has caused mass displacement and deaths.

Sudanese authorities have formally indicted Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (widely known as Hemedti), the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), along with his brother Abdel Rahim Dagalo, charging them in absentia with serious crimes including the assassination of the governor of Darfur and acts of genocide associated with large-scale ethnic violence in the region.

The charges are linked to the abduction and brutal killing of West Darfur governor Khamis Abakar in June 2023. His dismembered corpse was shared on social media, provoking intense outrage both within Sudan and internationally. In connection with the crime, authorities have also implicated 14 additional members of the RSF.

This development follows a formal declaration by the United States that the RSF is responsible for acts of genocide, highlighting a pattern of systematic ethnic killings and sexual violence, particularly targeting ethnic groups such as the Masalit people in Darfur. In response, the U.S. has imposed high-level sanctions on Hemedti and two of his brothers—including Abdel Rahim Dagalo—as well as on a number of companies linked to the RSF.

Simultaneously, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has indicated its intention to pursue arrest warrants for individuals responsible for atrocity crimes in West Darfur, drawing attention to deeply troubling similarities with the genocide that occurred in the region in the early 2000s.

The ongoing conflict, which began in April 2023, has led to the displacement of millions of people and the deaths of tens of thousands. As famine spreads and devastation continues to affect entire communities, international organizations and human rights groups are intensifying their demands for justice and accountability, in hopes of ending the entrenched culture of impunity in Sudan.