Characters
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Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
Commander-in-Chief, Sudanese Armed Forces; Chairman, Transitional Sovereignty Council
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Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
1960 –
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He is one of the few current heads of state who overthrew two governments (2019 and 2021) and then found himself fighting a war against his own former co-conspirator.
"Sudan's army will emerge victorious. There is no alternative to victory."
A career military officer with no charisma but considerable political cunning, al-Burhan rose through Sudan's army under Omar al-Bashir and participated in the 2019 coup that removed him. He and RSF commander Hemedti jointly toppled the civilian transitional government in October 2021, intending to rule together. That partnership shattered in April 2023 over the terms of RSF integration into the armed forces. A dispute between two generals about who would subordinate their forces to the other — each knowing what they would lose — ignited a war that has devastated the country.
Key Battles
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Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo
Commander, Rapid Support Forces (RSF); 'Hemedti'
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Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo
January 1, 1974 –
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He controls gold mines across Darfur and reportedly exports gold through the UAE, giving him an independent revenue stream of hundreds of millions of dollars per year that funds the RSF independently of any government.
"We fight for the Sudanese people. The army fights for power."
Known universally as 'Hemedti' — a childhood nickname — Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo is one of Africa's most powerful warlords, having transformed himself from a camel trader to the commander of a 100,000-strong paramilitary force through decades of violence, opportunism, and ruthlessness. He built the RSF from the remnants of the Janjaweed militias that committed genocide in Darfur. His forces have deployed to Saudi Arabia's Yemen war, mined gold across Sudan's west, and now contest control of an entire country. He operates from a command structure that moves constantly and is backed by the UAE, which values him as a counterweight to Islamist political forces.
Key Battles
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Khamis Abbakar
Governor of West Darfur State
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Khamis Abbakar
1960 – June 14, 2023
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In his final days, he gave multiple video interviews from El Geneina describing RSF atrocities in real time — providing one of the most detailed first-person accounts of an ongoing massacre in modern conflict documentation.
"They are killing us. The world must hear us."
Khamis Abbakar was the governor of West Darfur State — one of the regions hardest hit by the 2003–08 Darfur genocide and the site of renewed RSF atrocities in 2023. As RSF forces and allied militias swept through El Geneina, the state capital, Abbakar repeatedly issued public appeals for international intervention, broadcasting evidence of massacres of Masalit civilians. He was captured by RSF fighters and executed on video on June 14, 2023 — his death broadcast to the world as a demonstration of RSF power and impunity. His killing was condemned by the UN and cited in genocide investigations.
Key Battles
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