, image = Rapid Support Forces emblem.png
, image_size =
, caption = RSF Seal
, start_date = August 2013
, dates =
, country =
, allegiance =
, branch =
, command_structure =
Sudanese Armed Forces
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; ar, القوات المسلحة السودانية, Al-Quwwat al-Musallaha as-Sudaniyah) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. In 2011, IISS estimated the regular forces' numbers at personnel, whi ...
, type =
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
, role =
, garrison =
, garrison_label =
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, nickname =
, motto =
, march =
, mascot =
, battles =
, anniversaries =
, decorations =
, battle_honours =
, commander1 =
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo
)
, office = Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council
, term_start = 11 November 2021
, term_end =
, 1blankname = President
, 1namedata = Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
, predecessor ...
ar, محمد حمدان دقلو ("Hemetti")
, commander1_label = RSF Commander
, commander2 = Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo
, commander2_label = RSF deputy head
, ceremonial_chief =
, ceremonial_chief_label =
, identification_symbol = RSF
, identification_symbol_label = Abbreviation
, identification_symbol_2 =
, identification_symbol_2_label =
, website=https://rsf.gov.sd/
The Rapid Support Forces ( ar, قوات الدعم السريع) are Sudanese
paramilitary
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
forces operated by the
Sudanese Government
Currently, the politics of Sudan takes place in the framework of a federal provisional government. Previously, a ''president'' was head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces in a ''de jure'' multi-p ...
. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the
Janjaweed
The Janjaweed ( ar, جنجويد, Janjawīd, lit=mounted gunman; also transliterated ''Janjawid'') are a Sudanese Arab militia group that operate in Sudan, particularly Darfur, and eastern Chad. Using the United Nations definition, the Janjaweed ...
militias which fought on behalf of the Sudanese government during the
War in Darfur
The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups bega ...
, killing and raping civilians and burning their houses.
[Emad Hassan]
Militiamen in Sudan raped men and women, says eyewitness
Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...
(6 September 2019). The RSF's actions in Darfur qualify as
crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
according to
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
.
The RSF are administered by the
National Intelligence and Security Service
The National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) () is an intelligence agency of the Ethiopian federal government tasked with gathering information of national interests. It does counter-terrorism in the country by informing the federal p ...
, although during military operations they are commanded by the Sudanese Armed Forces. , the commander of the RSF is General
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo
)
, office = Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council
, term_start = 11 November 2021
, term_end =
, 1blankname = President
, 1namedata = Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
, predecessor ...
("Hemetti").
During the
Sudanese political crisis of 2019, the
military junta
A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...
who took control of the country employed the RSF to violently crack down on pro-democracy demonstrators.
Along with other security forces, the RSF carried out the
Khartoum massacre on 3 June 2019.
Origin
The RSF has its roots in the
Janjaweed militias used by the Sudanese Government in its attempts to fight the anti-government insurgency during the
War in Darfur
The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups bega ...
. The RSF was officially formed in August 2013 under the command of the
NISS, following a restructuring and reactivation of Janjaweed militias in order to combat rebel groups in Darfur region, South Kordofan, and the Blue Nile states, following joint attacks by Sudanese Revolutionary Front rebels in North and South Kordofan in April 2013.
Leadership and numbers
The RSF is headed by
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo
)
, office = Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council
, term_start = 11 November 2021
, term_end =
, 1blankname = President
, 1namedata = Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
, predecessor ...
("Hemetti"), who has been its leader since it was created in 2013 or 2014.
, Hemetti's brother
Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo is deputy head of the RSF.
The RSF was estimated by
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
as having about 5,0006,000 soldiers in February 2014 in Darfur.
In 2016–2017, the RSF had 40,000 members participating in the
Yemeni Civil War Yemeni Civil War may refer to several historical events which have taken place in Yemen:
*Alwaziri coup, February – March 1948
*Yemeni–Adenese clan violence, 1956–60
*North Yemen Civil War, 1962–70
*Aden Emergency, 1963–67
*South Yemen#Di ...
. In late October 2019, 10,000 had returned to Sudan.
In July 2019, about 1,000 RSF soldiers were present in Libya, supporting the
Libyan National Army
The Libyan National Army (LNA; ar, الجيش الوطني الليبي, ''al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii'') is a component of Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa ...
commanded by
Khalifa Haftar
Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar ( ar, خليفة بلقاسم حفتر, Ḵalīfa Bilqāsim Ḥaftar; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LN ...
.
Role
Migration control
In addition to its role in Darfur, the RSF is also deployed to patrol the border with Libya and round up Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees in response to the
Khartoum process, which is an initiative between European and African states, including Sudan, to stem the flow of migrants to Europe.
Business interests
In November 2017, Hemetti used the RSF to take over control of gold mines in the Darfur region, which led to him becoming one of the richest people in Sudan by 2019.
Hemetti's brother Abdul Rahim, deputy head of the RSF, heads the Al Junaid (or ''Al Gunade'') corporation involved in gold mining and trading in Sudan.
In December 2019, a ''
Global Witness
Global Witness is an international NGO established in 1993 that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. The organisation has offices in London and Washin ...
'' investigation into the RSF and Al Junaid argued that the RSF and Al Junaid are closely linked in terms of financial transactions. ''Global Witness'' stated that "the RSF and
l Junaid hadcaptured a swathe of the
udanesegold industry and
erelikely using it to fund their operations." The General Manager of Al Junaid stated to
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre.
Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corpora ...
that there were no close links between the two.
The RSF has two
front companies
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gro ...
called ''GSK'', a small Sudanese technology company, and ''Tradive General Trading LLC'', a United Arab Emirates-based company, both controlled by Hemetti's brother Algoney Hamdan Dagalo.
War in Darfur
During the
War in Darfur
The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups bega ...
, in 2014 and 2015, RSF "repeatedly attacked villages, burned and looted homes, beating, raping and executing villagers," aided by air and ground support from the
Sudanese Armed Forces
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; ar, القوات المسلحة السودانية, Al-Quwwat al-Musallaha as-Sudaniyah) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. In 2011, IISS estimated the regular forces' numbers at personnel, whi ...
.
The RSF executions and rapes typically took place in villages after rebels had left. The attacks were systematic enough to qualify as
crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
according to
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
.
International civil wars
Libyan Civil War
During the
2019 Western Libya offensive phase of the
Second Libyan Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Second Libyan Civil War
, partof = the Arab Winter, Libyan Crisis, Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, War on terror, and Qatar–Saudi Arabia diplomatic conflict
, image ...
, in July 2019, about 1000 RSF soldiers were present in Libya, supporting the
Libyan National Army
The Libyan National Army (LNA; ar, الجيش الوطني الليبي, ''al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii'') is a component of Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa ...
(LNA) commanded by
Khalifa Haftar
Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar ( ar, خليفة بلقاسم حفتر, Ḵalīfa Bilqāsim Ḥaftar; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LN ...
and based in
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near ...
, which was fighting against the internationally recognised
Government of National Accord
The Government of National Accord ( ar, حكومة الوفاق الوطني) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. ...
(GNA) based in
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
.
Yemeni Civil War
The RSF has participated in the
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) Yemeni Civil War may refer to several historical events which have taken place in Yemen:
*Alwaziri coup, February – March 1948
* Yemeni–Adenese clan violence, 1956–60
*North Yemen Civil War, 1962–70
*Aden Emergency, 1963–67
* North Yemen- ...
, supporting the pro-
Hadi Hadi or Hady ( ar, هادي) is an Arabic masculine given name and surname. Al-Hadi is one of the 99 names of God in Islam meaning ''guide'' (from the Arabic triconsonantal root ; also present in hidayah).
Given name Hadi
* Hadi Saei (born 1976), ...
forces. Both the RSF and other Sudanese security forces, participating in the
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, have killed civilians and destroyed infrastructure, for which they are suspected of war crimes by
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
.
In 2016–2017, the RSF had members participating in the
Yemeni Civil War Yemeni Civil War may refer to several historical events which have taken place in Yemen:
*Alwaziri coup, February – March 1948
*Yemeni–Adenese clan violence, 1956–60
*North Yemen Civil War, 1962–70
*Aden Emergency, 1963–67
*South Yemen#Di ...
. In late October 2019, had returned to Sudan.
2018–19 Sudanese protests and human rights abuses
The RSF killed 100 protestors, injured 500, raped women and pillaged homes in the
Khartoum massacre on 3 June 2019 during the
2018–19 Sudanese protests.
During the first day of
Eid al-Fitr in Sudan, in early June 2019, there were several reports that the RSF tied bricks of cement to the bodies of dead protestors to make them sink to the bottom of the Nile and never be found.
The Central Committee of Medical Doctors stated that more than 100 people had been killed.
On 6 June 2019,
Kumi Naidoo
Kumi Naidoo (b 1965 in Durban, South Africa) is a human rights and climate justice activist. He was International Executive Director of Greenpeace International (from 2009 through 2015) and Secretary General of Amnesty International (from 201 ...
, the head of
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, called for the "
mmediate withdrawal ofall members of the Rapid Support Forces from policing and law enforcement anywhere in Sudan and especially in Khartoum".
In addition to the killings in Khartoum, other human rights violations during the 2018-19 crisis have been attributed to the RSF, including the
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
of 70 male and female protesters during the Khartoum massacre and the following days;
the targeting of peaceful
sit-ins;
[Sudanese Rapid Support Forces Are Targeting Hospitals, Peaceful Sit-In; Dozens of Civilians Reported Killed](_blank)
Physicians for Human Rights (3 June 2019). and attacks on several hospitals.
The
Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors reported Janjaweed/RSF shooting dead nine people in the market of the village al-Dalij (or al-Delig) in
Central Darfur
Central Darfur State () is one of the states of Sudan, and one of five comprising the Darfur region. It was created in January 2012 as a result of the ongoing peace process for the wider Darfur region. The state capital is Zalingei. The state w ...
on 10
or 11/12
June 2019. The massacre and the burning down of the market were interpreted by locals as a response to civil disobedience.
References
External links
Official RSF Facebook
{{Use dmy dates, date=October 2021
2013 establishments in Sudan
Military of Sudan
Military units and formations established in 2013
Organisations of the Sudanese Revolution
Paramilitary organisations based in Sudan