KHARTOUM, Sudan — General Mohamed Hamdan Dagolo, better known as Hemedti, has become a defining figure in Sudan’s bloody conflict, a warlord who rose from the periphery to become a key player in the capital’s power dynamics.
Hemedti, the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, has wielded power in Sudan for years, rising from the ranks of the Janjaweed, a group of Arab militias known for their role in the Darfur genocide.
On Monday 27 October, his forces committed atrocities in the city of el-Fasher after it was seized from the Sudanese army.
One refugee from el-Fasher has told the Reuters news agency about what she witnessed when she fled the city. “They lined the men up, they said, ‘We want the soldiers,'” she says.
But no-one put up their hands so some were picked out. “They shot them in front of us, they shot them in the street.”
No one knows exactly when or where Hemedti was born. Like many who hail from Sudan’s peripheries, his date of birth was not officially recorded, though he is thought to be in his late 40s. He claims to have been born in Sudan, but his family, members of an Arab tribe of camel herders and traders, are said to have arrived in western Sudan’s Darfur region in the 1980s, having fled conflict and drought in Chad.
Hailing from the far western reaches of Sudan, Hemedti is an outsider to the Khartoum political establishment. His rise to prominence is a testament to the shifting power dynamics in Sudan, where periphery forces have increasingly gained influence in the capital.
Hemedti: From Rebel to General
Hemedti’s path to power is a story of political entrepreneurship and ruthlessness. He is a school dropout, a former trader, and a seasoned commander who rose through the ranks of the Janjaweed during the Darfur conflict. He honed his skills as a military leader, displaying a keen understanding of the political currents that swirl in the country.
His trajectory is marked by strategic alliances and brutal tactics. Hemedti’s militia, the RSF, has become a formidable force in Sudan, engaging in counterinsurgency operations and deploying troops to Yemen for lucrative contracts.
Hemedti has also seized control of Sudan’s gold mines, a critical source of income that has helped solidify his financial power and military might.
“Hemedti is adopting a model of state mercenarism familiar to those who follow the politics of the Sahara,” said Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation and a prominent Sudan scholar.
The RSF’s involvement in Sudan’s internal and external conflicts, coupled with its financial clout, has transformed it into a significant player in the country’s political landscape.
Hemedti’s RSF Atrocities
Researchers in the US say they have found evidence of mass killings, after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control of the city of el-Fasher from the Sudanese army. One refugee from el-Fasher has told the Reuters news agency about what she witnessed when she fled the city. “They lined the men up, they said, ‘We want the soldiers,'” she says.
But no-one put up their hands so some were picked out. “They shot them in front of us, they shot them in the street.”
Grave atrocities, including summary executions are reportedly being carried out in the Darfuri regional capital of El Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, according to the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
The agency has received reports of summary executions of civilians trying to escape what was the last Sudanese military government stronghold of El Fasher – with indications of ethnic motivations for killings – and of former combatants who have put down their weapons, which is prohibited under humanitarian law.
“The risk of further large-scale, ethnically motivated violations and atrocities in El Fasher is mounting by the day,” warned UN human rights chief Volker Türk.
Hemedti’s forces have committed atrocities in Sudan’s recent conflicts, including mass killings, torture, and sexual violence.
“Reports of extreme violence coming out of Sudan’s east-central state of Gezira indicate mass killings, torture, and sexual violence against civilians in recent attacks by Hemedti’s Rapid Support Forces militia,” said the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission in a report released two weeks ago.
Local sources have documented at least 124 people killed and 150 others abducted in the village of Alseriha in the agricultural Gezira province in an assault launched by RSF fighters between 20 and 25 October. The UN has accused the RSF of a rampage in villages and towns, shooting at civilians, sexually attacking women and girls, and looting private and public properties.
These accusations echo the atrocities committed during the Darfur genocide in the early 2000s, including rape, sexual violence, and mass killings.
Hemedti’s RSF is now entangled in the war that has engulfed Sudan. Hemedti’s forces have been fighting the Sudanese military, and their actions reveal a force that is not only hostile to the army, but also to the inhabitants of Khartoum.
From the third day of the conflict, RSF troops began entering houses in Khartoum, pillaging, looting and assaulting civilians.
A Powerful Network
The RSF’s financial backing has played a key role in its ability to maintain its power and wage war. Hemedti’s family owns a gold mining company that operates in Darfur and the South, allowing the RSF to circumvent capital controls and generate significant revenue. In 2018, Bashir gave Hemedti permission to mine and sell gold, and operations extended to other gold-rich areas in the south of the country. The gold was exported, according to a 2019 Reuters investigation, circumventing capital controls, and even sold to the Sudanese central bank for a preferential rate.
The yield was allegedly used to enrich Hemedti and his family, and fund the expansion of the RSF. Hemedti’s allies, including regional countries in Africa and the Gulf, have provided him with crucial support.
The conflict in Sudan has brought the country to a breaking point, and Hemedti, the warlord who rose from the periphery, has become a pivotal player in the unfolding drama. He represents the shifting power dynamics in Sudan, where violence and ruthlessness have become tools for political advancement.
