A Sudanese court has sentenced paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo to death for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for atrocities committed in the West Darfur region.

The court of Port Sudan, a city under the rule of the army, Dagalo, known as Hemedti, was sentenced in absentia, along with 15 other senior RSF members, who received the same sentence.

The Sudan Founding Alliance, which includes RSF, told the BBC it was a “false judgment” that “doesn’t even deserve a comment.”

The trial focused on alleged atrocities committed in the regional capital, El Geneina, including the June 2023 assassination of the state governor, Khamis Abbakar.

The court also found all 16 defendants guilty of orchestrating attacks on civilians, widespread destruction and looting of property, and attacks on schools, places of worship and residential neighborhoods.

Among those sentenced were Hemedti’s brother and second-in-command, Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, another brother, Al-Qoni Hamdan Dagalo, and the RSF commander in West Darfur, Abdul Rahman Juma Barkallah.

RSF has not yet commented directly on the verdict, but has previously rejected accusations of war crimes during the conflict.

Special Judge Mohamed Al-Amin ordered the confiscation of all RSF assets and instructed authorities to apply for Interpol red notices for the arrest and extradition of those convicted.

This sentence is the first judicial conviction of the leaders of the RSF since the civil war broke out; However, its impact remains unclear, as the group continues to control large areas of western Sudan and its leaders remain beyond the reach of the army.

Hemedti’s whereabouts are not publicly known.

UN investigators and human rights organizations have accused the RSF and allied Arab militias of carrying out ethnically targeted attacks against the Masalit population in Darfur.

Earlier this month, the deputy chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said they have “concrete evidence” linking RSF leaders to war crimes.

In May 2024, a Human Rights Watch report stated that the campaign in and around El Geneina between April and November 2023 killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee.

The human rights organization said the abuses amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity committed as part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Masalit and other non-Arab communities.

Both sides have been accused of committing human rights abuses and war crimes. Last year, United Nations investigators , externalfound that the Sudanese army and RSF had targeted civilians and vital infrastructure, such as medical facilities, in large-scale attacks.

Sudan was plunged into civil war in April 2023 after a fierce power struggle broke out between Sudanese army leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Hemedti.

More than 150,000 people have died and an estimated 12 million more have fled their homes amid the conflict. Aid agencies say around 28 million people face acute hunger.