A notorious Sudanese paramilitary commander has callously executed more than 2,000 civilians in the western city of Al Fasher, becoming the infamous face of the massacres being committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Darfur region.
The RSF captured Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, last week, amid reports of massacres against civilians trapped in the city.
The takeover was part of a deadly civil war, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemetti) against the Sudanese army since April 2023.
Several videos showed one of the so-called RSF commanders, known as Abu Lulu, callously gunning down people at point-blank range one by one in the city, cementing his notoriety as the “Butcher of Al Fasher”.
Abu Lulu
Abu Lulu, whose true name is Al Fateh Abdullah Idris, is one of the most notorious RSF leaders and among the closest to the Dagalo family, who are also members of the Mahariya Rizeigat tribe.
He joined the RSF in 2013 after receiving military training.
His family connections to RSF leader Hemetti helped him to rise rapidly within the paramilitary force, as he joined the special forces and was sent to Yemen several times.
After returning from Yemen, he was transferred to the intelligence office, which strengthened his position within the paramilitary group.
When the conflict escalated between the RSF and the Sudanese army, Abu Lulu became one of the guards of Abdelrheem Dagalo, a brother of Hemetti and the deputy leader of the RSF at the time.
International sanctions were imposed on Abdelrheem Dagalo in September 2023 due to human rights abuses and war crimes that he reportedly committed during the war.
Abu Lulu joined in several skirmishes within the capital, Khartoum, against the Sudanese army.
He became known after appearing in videos showing the killing of hostages and overseeing the field executions of civilians.
'I lost track'
In the latest atrocities committed in Al Fasher, he personally killed thousands and documented mass killings of civilians, which he admitted to on live videos.
“I wanted to kill 2,000, but I'm sure the number exceeded 2,000, but I got confused about the calculation,” Abu Lulu said in a TikTok live stream.
“I lost track of it, but I will do it again, starting from zero,” he bragged, as other RSF men appeared, laughing with him.
His words drew global outrage, and the TikTok account was banned by the platform due to violations of the community’s guidelines.
Last week, RSF leader Hemetti admitted that “violations” had occurred by his forces in Al Fasher, claiming that investigation committees had been formed.
“Following the leadership's directives, Abu Lulu and a number of those involved in human rights violations in Al Fasher were arrested by RSF,” the group claimed in a statement on its official Telegram channel on October 30, despite denying any connection with him before.
