Sudan's Hemedti carved route to power by crushing Darfur revolt

FILE PHOTO: Deputy of Sudan's Military Leader, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, speaks at a ceremony to sign the framework agreement between military rulers and civilian powers in Khartoum, Sudan December 5, 2022. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig

(Reuters) - Sudan's General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, rose from lowly beginnings to head a widely feared Arab militia that crushed a revolt in Darfur, winning him influence and eventually a role as the country's second most powerful man, and one of its richest.On Saturday, fighting erupted between his Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which were militias in Darfur before they became a paramilitary force, and the military.

Hemedti has played a prominent role in his country's turbulent politics for 10 years, helping topple his one-time benefactor President Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and later quashing protests by Sudanese seeking democracy.