ISTANBUL

A Sudanese paramilitary commander has callously executed more than 2,000 civilians in the western city of El-Fasher, becoming the face of the massacres being committed by the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Darfur region.

The RSF captured El-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 war between the rebel group, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) and the Sudanese army since April 2023.

Several video footage showed one of the RSF commanders, known as Abu Lulu, callously gunning down people at point-blank range one by one in the city, earning him the nickname “Butcher of El-Fasher”.

Abu Lulu, whose true name is Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, is one of the most prominent RSF commanders 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 Hemedti helped him to rise rapidly within the rebel group, 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 Hemedti 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 fights within the capital, Khartoum, against Sudanese army forces. He became known after appearing in videos showing the killing of hostages and overseeing the field executions of civilians.

In the latest atrocities committed in El-Fasher, he personally killed thousands and documented mass killings of civilians, which he admitted to on live.

“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 militants 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 Hemedti admitted that “violations” had occurred by his forces in El-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 El-Fasher were arrested by RSF,” the rebel group claimed in a statement on its official Telegram channel on Oct. 30, despite denying any connection with him before.