Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, is the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), one of the two main belligerents in Sudan's civil war. He largely hails from Darfur. The RSF is descended from the mostly Arab Janjaweed militias that are notorious for the slaughter of black Africans in Darfur in the 2000s. Dagalo's brother attended peace talks hosted by Massad Boulos in Washington in late October 2025, a signal that the RSF might be open to a ceasefire.
Dagalo started out as a camel trader before becoming a commander in the Janjaweed militias. In 2017 he seized control of Darfur's largest gold mine, enabling him and his family to buy up private and public assets. By the time the civil war erupted in 2023 he was Sudan's de facto vice-president and one of its richest men.
Dagalo's business empire straddles the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea. According to the Sentry, an American investigative group, members of the Dagalo family and companies linked to the RSF own more than 20 properties in Dubai, worth $24m in total. A network of UAE-based companies enables the RSF leadership to turn smuggled gold into hard currency. The Dagalo family says any private residences or assets had been properly obtained and that members had been engaged in legitimate commercial activity, such as livestock trading, for generations.
Stupidity got us into this mess -- why can't it get us out?