The commander of Sudan’s powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), has pledged to launch a formal investigation into alleged atrocities committed by his forces following the capture of El Fasher, the last army stronghold in the volatile Darfur region.
The announcement comes as international and local outrage intensifies over reports of mass killings and summary executions after the RSF seized control of the North Darfur capital. Gen Dagalo acknowledged the gravity of the accusations in a video statement, in which he “expressed sympathy after reports of mass killings by his group in the newly captured El-Fasher.”
Responding directly to the flood of condemnation, the paramilitary chief conceded that serious breaches had occurred among his ranks and declared a formal probe was underway.
“I see that excesses happened in Al Fasher, and I hereby announce the formation of investigative committees. These committees have already reached Al Fasher,” Gen Dagalo stated.
The UN Human Rights Office reported receiving “multiple alarming reports that the Rapid Support Forces are carrying out atrocities, including summary executions,” while the World Health Organisation condemned reports that 460 people were killed at a maternity hospital.
Furthermore, the Sudanese army-aligned government has accused the RSF of killing more than 2,000 civilians. Satellite imagery analysis, according to Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab, showed “mass killing events” with “corroboration of alleged executions around Saudi Hospital and a previously unreported potential mass killing at an RSF detention site at the former Children’s Hospital in eastern El-Fasher.”
Gen Dagalo insisted on a commitment to swift accountability for any misconduct within his ranks. He vowed that: “legal investigation committees will immediately investigate and hold accountable any soldier or officer who violated human rights, and the results of the investigations will be announced immediately.”
The fall of El Fasher has solidified RSF control over the vast Darfur region and has drawn renewed focus on the group’s lineage from the notorious Janjaweed militias, raising fears of a full-scale return to the ethnically targeted violence that led to genocide accusations two decades ago.
