Hopes for Sudan’s transition to civilian rule have dwindled after violence broke out between the army and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Much of the RSF’s influence can be attributed to its leader, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti” or “Little Mohamed”. He rose to prominence as the deputy leader of a transitional council set up after former strongman Omar al-Bashir was ousted in 2019.
His RSF and the army staged a coup against a joint civil-military leadership in 2021, but a year and a half later, Dagalo seems dissatisfied with the military, making statements about how the ranks are still filled with loyalists who will hinder the process towards democracy.
So who is this figure who has risen through the ranks to become one of the richest and most powerful men in Sudan, the force behind Sudan’s feared warriors?
A humble beginning for the mastermind of the militia
Dagalo was born circa 1974 to the Mahariya tribe of the Rizeigat community in Darfur, the nephew of a chieftain in the Rizeigat camel trading branch.
He received little formal education, dropping out of school in third grade and later becoming a camel trader.
The most common story of Dagalo is that he was forced to take up arms in the Darfur conflict when men attacked his trade envoy, killing 60 members of his family and looting his camels.
He joined the Janjaweed, a conglomerate of Arab tribal militias mainly from camel trading tribes active in Darfur and parts of Chad.
Rising through the ranks, he caught the attention of President al-Bashir, who recruited Janjaweed to fight non-Arab people who rebelled against his rule in Darfur in 2003, and Dagalo soon became a commander.
Human rights groups have accused the Janjaweed of war crimes during the conflict in Darfur, including murder, rape and torture of civilians.
The RSF was founded in 2013 under the leadership of Dagalo. It combined elements of the Janjaweed into a new force under the auspices of al-Bashir and his National Intelligence and Security Forces.
Ally and opponent of al-Bashir
Dagalo soon gained further legitimacy and a great deal of autonomy as al-Bashir, impressed by the tall, imposing militia leader, came to trust on him and his fighters to wipe out his enemies in Darfur and elsewhere in the Sudan.
Dagalo won the rank of lieutenant general and was given free reign when he seized lucrative gold mines in Darfur that belonged to a rival tribal leader. He multiplied his fortune many times over.
“As he rose to prominence, Hemedti’s own business interests grew with Bashir’s help, and his family expanded interests in gold mining, livestock and infrastructure,” said Adel Abdel Ghafar, director of the Middle East Council’s Foreign Policy and Security Program on Global. That’s what Business told Al Jazeera.
Despite being a longtime ally of al-Bashir and benefiting greatly from his rule, Dagalo took part in overthrowing the president when the 2019 uprising erupted and ended his nearly 30-year rule.
Power grab after Bashir
After al-Bashir’s departure, a civil-military partnership was established and Dagalo positioned itself well in that transitional period.
He became the deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, which held power immediately after al-Bashir fell, and subsequently became part of its successor, the Sovereignty Council, Ghafar said.
And, as he always has, Dagalo cracked down on dissenters.
His RSF forces killed more than 100 people in a protest camp outside the Defense Ministry in 2019, a crackdown by Dagalo denied the order.
While al-Bashir and other top Sudanese officials have been charged with genocide and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, no charges have been brought against Dagalo, despite allegations by rights groups of war crimes committed by the forces he has led over the past decade. .
Dark role in the transition to civilian rule
Over the years, Dagalo has forged powerful ties, both in the region and internationally.
He sent RSF troops to fight Iran-focused Houthi rebels in Yemen, working with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
He has also met Western ambassadors, held talks with rebel groups, brokered peace between warring tribes and spoken publicly about the importance of democracy in Sudan as he made no effort to hide his animosity towards the military.
The latest violence then broke out Sudan’s military, RSF and civilian pro-democracy forces reached an agreement in December that paved the way for civilian rule.
Under the agreement, the army would return to its barracks and the RSF would be absorbed into its ranks, bringing the two forces together under one commander, currently General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
“Both he and Burhan have calculated that the leadership contest is now a zero-sum game and so are playing it off, and unfortunately the Sudanese people have to stand on the sidelines as both military leaders fight it out to the bitter end.” said Ghafar.