EL GENEINA – Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander in West Darfur, Abdulrahman Juma Barkallah, called on his fighters to intensify military operations and kill prisoners, while denying responsibility for atrocities committed in El Geneina and blaming Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for crimes committed during the war.
In a video reviewed by Sudan Now, Abdulrahman Juma urged RSF fighters to continue fighting without restraint, saying: “These are my orders… I don’t want to hear about hesitation,” in remarks that included a call to kill prisoners. He also claimed that anyone who had lost family members, homes or property should hold Burhan responsible.
Abdulrahman Juma also sought to distance himself from the violence that engulfed El Geneina in 2023, despite being one of the most prominent RSF commanders associated with operations in West Darfur during that period.
El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, witnessed some of the deadliest violence of Sudan’s conflict in 2023. Multiple United Nations bodies, independent investigators and human rights organizations documented widespread reports of ethnically motivated killings, sexual violence and mass displacement, with allegations that RSF fighters and allied Arab militias played a central role in the attacks. The RSF has repeatedly denied responsibility for the alleged violations.
Abdulrahman Juma has also been named by Sudanese authorities among the principal RSF commanders accused of involvement in the killing of former West Darfur Governor Khamis Abdallah Abakar and other crimes committed during the violence in El Geneina.
In 2026, the Port Sudan Counterterrorism and Crimes Against the State Court sentenced Abdulrahman Juma to death in absentia, alongside RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), his brother Abdel Rahim Dagalo, and other RSF leaders after convicting them on charges including waging war against the state and other offenses.
