who are the rsf in sudan

The RSF in Sudan are the Rapid Support Forces , a powerful paramilitary group that grew out of militias used by the Sudanese government in the Darfur conflict and is now one of the main armed actors in Sudan’s current war.

Who they are, in simple terms

• The RSF is a large, heavily armed paramilitary force that was officially created around 2013 by the Sudanese government.

• It has its roots in the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of ethnic cleansing and other grave abuses during the war in Darfur.

• The group’s longtime leader is Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti , a former Darfur militia commander who rose from local warlord to national-level power broker.

How they became so powerful

• The former regime of Omar al-Bashir formalized parts of the Janjaweed into the RSF and used them as a shock force against rebels in Darfur and other regions.

• A 2017 law integrated the RSF into Sudan’s formal security architecture and placed it under the president’s command, giving it legal status, funding, and access to weapons.

• Over time, the RSF seized economic assets, including lucrative gold mines in Darfur, which gave Hemedti and his network independent sources of money and patronage.

Role in Sudan’s current war

• In April 2023, tensions between the RSF and the regular army (the Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF) exploded into full-scale war across Sudan, including in the capital, Khartoum.

• The RSF has since captured large parts of Darfur and other regions and has been repeatedly accused of massacres, widespread sexual violence, ethnic killings (especially against non-Arab groups like the Masalit), and other war crimes.

• The conflict has devastated the country, displacing millions and creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with the RSF and SAF both fighting for national power.

How the RSF presents itself vs. how others see it

• On its own channels, the RSF portrays itself as a national security force that protects borders, fights smuggling and human trafficking, and supports “democratic transition.”

• Many Sudanese civilians, human rights groups, and some foreign governments instead view the RSF as a warlord-led militia responsible for atrocities and ethnic cleansing, and there are calls to designate it a terrorist organization.

Recent political moves

• In 2025, the RSF and its allies announced a rival “Government of Peace and Unity” and signed a transitional charter and constitution, seen by critics as an attempt to claim state legitimacy and control aid and arms flows.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.