by CHARLOTTE TOUATI
On October 26, 2025, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia took the city of El Fasher after an 18-month siege. The capital of North Darfur State and the economic heart of Darfur, El Fasher had served as a refuge for hundreds of thousands of displaced people fleeing the fighting since April 2023. It was the last humanitarian access point for the UN until its fall. Under siege, the information reaching us consists mainly of videos of abuses filmed by the RSF militiamen themselves. Testimonies are beginning to emerge, reporting mass ethnic crimes against black populations by Arab militias.
The open conflict began on April 15, 2023, when the paramilitary RSF clashed with the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) for political and military control of the country. The RSF is led by Mohamed Hamdan Dogolo, known as “Hemedti,” while the SAF answer to Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and form the regular army. The two generals were allies for a time and were supposed to share power, but the breakup now raises fears of an east-west partition of Sudan.
Hemedti is originally from Darfur. Initially known as a “businessman,” he built an empire thanks to the gold mines in his native region. As an Arab, he rallied the Janjaweed, who were then armed by Omar al-Bashir to quell the rebellion in Darfur. From 2004 onwards, Hemedti led several hundred Janjaweed fighters and collaborated directly with the Sudanese intelligence services (the NISS) and the army. The Janjaweed are guilty of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide according to the ICC, documented by the UN as mass murders, rape as a weapon of war, systematic destruction of villages, looting of property and livestock, burning of crops, poisoning of wells, and forced displacement.
In 2009, Hemedti created Al Junaid for gold mining in Darfur. But in 2013, under international pressure, the Sudanese government wanted to integrate the Janjaweed into the country’s security architecture. They became the famous RSF, with Al Junaid as their economic arm.
In April 2019, Sudan entered a decisive phase in its history. After several months of popular protests triggered by soaring prices and economic crisis, the unrest took a political turn and openly called for the departure of President Omar al-Bashir, who had been in power for 30 years. Faced with pressure from the streets and internal divisions within the regime, the army finally ousted al-Bashir on April 11, 2019. This overthrow ushered in a period of uncertainty: a Transitional Military Council initially took power, before a fragile compromise was reached with the civilian forces of the revolutionary movement. It was in this context that General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan became president of the Sovereign Council, while Hemedti became its vice-president. This alliance between the army, the paramilitaries, and some of the civilians was supposed to pave the way for democratic elections, but it quickly proved unstable: the competing ambitions of military leaders, the impunity of the RSF, and the difficulties faced by civilian institutions plunged the country back into a power struggle that would erupt into open war in 2023.
But external players must also be considered. Darfur’s strategic position and mineral wealth have placed it at the crossroads of trafficking routes, with Hemedti at its centre.
The Russian connection
Following the capture of Jebel Amer (North Darfur) in 2017, a mountainous area extremely rich in gold, the RSF gained real autonomy from Omar al-Bashir. This victory coincided with significant support from the late Evgeni Prigozhin, then leader of the Russian SMP Wagner. This can be explained by the type of business in which the two men are involved (gold, weapons, mercenaries) and the geographical position of Hemedti’s stronghold, Darfur. Darfur borders the Central African Republic (CAR), Wagner’s strongest bastion, which has been the praetorian guard of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra since 2017. According to its usual pattern, Wagner pays itself in mineral resources from the country. Convoys travel between the CAR and Sudan via Darfur.
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