Governor of West Darfur State
"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.
Did you know?
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.
April – December 2023 · 15,000 total casualties
The Darfur offensive bore unmistakable hallmarks of the 2003–08 genocide, committed by many of the same RSF commanders and allied militias, against the same ethnic communities, with the same patterns of violence. UN investigators and human rights organizations documented acts constituting genocide. The International Criminal Court, which had indicted Omar al-Bashir for the earlier genocide, opened new investigations.
1960
🌅 Birth
Born in West Darfur
2010s
📍 Posting
Political career, Khartoum
2022
📍 Posting
Appointed Governor of West Darfur, El Geneina
June 14, 2023
✝️ Death
Captured and executed by RSF, El Geneina