ALBAWABA - A Sudanese anti-terrorism court sentenced Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to death in absentia on Sunday over the killing of former West Darfur Governor Khamis Abdallah Abakar.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is widely known as Hemedti, was sentenced by the Anti-Terrorism and Crimes Against the State Court in Port Sudan.
The court also handed death sentences in absentia to Hemedti's deputy leader, Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, the brother of the RSF leader, and 14 others.
Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa, also known as Al-Qoni, another brother of Hemedti; Abdel Rahman Juma, the RSF commander in West Darfur; and tribal leader Al-Tijani Al-Tahir Karshoum were also among the other defendants sentenced to death in absentia.
A Sudanese supporter of the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) holds up a sign showing a portrait of General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo "Hemeti", during a rally in the centre of the capital Khartoum on May 31, 2019. (Photo by ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP)
The defendants were charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and crimes against persons and property, according to the Anadolu Agency.
The ruling marks the first court verdict against the Dagalo since the start of the Sudanese war in April 2023.
When was Khamis Abdallah Abakar killed?
Khamis Abdallah Abakar, who was the ex-West Darfur Governor, was killed on June 14, 2023, after accusing the paramilitary forces of targeting civilians in West Darfur's capital, El Geneina.
Sudan's government accused the RSF of killing him and mutilating his body, but it denied.
