Investigation | Unmasking RSF brigadier “Abu Lulu”

EL–FASHER – A video that emerged on social media this week has once again placed Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under local and international scrutiny. The footage, filmed in El Fasher, the capital of the besieged North Darfur State, shows an RSF officer executing a civilian after interrogating him about his tribal identity.

The victim, a trader known locally as “A’am (uncle) Ahmed”, is forced to sit on the ground just to the north of the 6^th Infantry Division, while the uniformed RSF fighter questions him. The video in which the appearance was made was likely filmed during a large-scale RSF attack on El Fasher on August 17, 2025, and widely circulated online on August 18.

“Talk straight. I swear to God I don’t talk much, and I don’t spare people. Since God established the Rapid Support [Forces], I have never spared anyone – not a prisoner, not anyone. Now tell me, where is the commander of the 6^th Infantry Division?”

The detainee pleads desperately for his life. “I don’t know, I swear to God. I have a restaurant. God bless you, please don’t kill me,” he says. The interrogation shifts to his tribal background. When the man answers that he is Borgo, one of Darfur’s non-Arab groups, the officer raises his weapon, and fires seven rounds at close range. The body collapses instantly.

The execution occurred in the aftermath of the RSF’s most recent offensive against El Fasher, the last Darfur state capital still held by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). For months, the RSF has sought to capture the city, home to the SAF’s 6^th Infantry Division, using waves of fighters drawn from Arab militias across Darfur as well as mercenaries from Colombia, Chad, Libya and South Sudan. The offensive has displaced thousands and left those trapped inside facing siege-like conditions.

Geolocation conducted by Sudans Post confirms the killing took place in Hai al-Nasr, an area two kilometers north of the SAF divisional headquarters and about 2.5 kilometers to the south of the Abu Shok displacement camp, which RSF fighters also briefly overran. The coordinates – 13°38’54.59″N 25°20’59.26″E – match an abandoned fenced compound adjacent to Nabd al-Hayat hospital.

The methodical way in which the officer questions the detainee before killing him mirrors other documented cases of RSF fighters using ethnic identity as the basis for execution. Analysts and rights groups say this pattern demonstrates that identity-based killings are not spontaneous but form part of an organized strategy of terror.

For days after the video circulated, questions persisted about the identity of the paramilitary officer. His face is visible, his voice is clear, and his confidence suggests seniority within the force.

After investigation and cross-referencing with earlier footage, Sudans Post has identified the perpetrator as Brigadier-General Al-Fatih Abdallah Idris, known by his alias “Issa Abu Lulu,” a commander who is an ethnic Rezaigat’s Awlad Rashid subsection.

Like many within the RSF, Idris has long used a “nom de guerre” which is a French word for “war name”. The adoption of aliases such as “Abu [name/word]” is common among RSF fighters, both as a cultural practice and as a means of obscuring real identities in anticipation of future accountability. In this case, however, the brutality of his actions and repeated appearances on video have left little room for doubt.

This is not the first time Abu Lulu’s name has been linked to atrocities. In March 2024, video evidence placed him at the Jili Refinery north of Khartoum, where RSF fighters executed captured army personnel as they retreated from the capital. Survivors have also connected him to killings of detainees in Um Sumayma, North Kordofan State, and to attacks on civilians in El Fula, West Kordofan State. His notoriety has only grown as more recordings of his actions emerge.

After the El Fasher video went viral, RSF officer Mohamed al-Fatih, better known as Juj Bajuj, issued a statement denying that Brigadier General al-Fatih Abdallah was part of the RSF. Yet an audio recording circulating on WhatsApp, attributed to Abu Lulu himself, mocked such denials. In it, he vows to continue killing, declaring: “I will continue to kill until I reach 2,000 dead victims.”

In a separate video posted on TikTok, Brigadier General Abu Lulu referred to the victim as a war “prisoner” and vowed to continue killing anyone — including RSF members — who showed sympathy for or collaborated with the Sudanese army.

He added that killing them and seizing their property was “halal,” or religiously permissible.

The brazenness of that statement, combined with the choice to film and disseminate executions, underscores the role that terror plays in RSF strategy. By showing that no detainee is safe and by publicizing such killings, the RSF seeks both to intimidate opponents and to project authority within its own ranks.

The execution in El Fasher is part of a broader campaign that has transformed Darfur into the epicenter of Sudan’s conflict. Since April 2023, the RSF has consolidated control over much of the region, leaving El Fasher as the last symbolic and strategic holdout of the traditional military. Repeated RSF attacks have been accompanied by mass atrocities, particularly against non-Arab groups such as the Zaghawa, Borgo, Fur, and Masalit. Rights organizations have increasingly described these actions as ethnic cleansing.

Rights and opposition groups condemn killing

The execution sparked widespread condemnation across Sudan’s political and civil spectrum, with rights groups and opposition parties calling it further evidence of systematic atrocities by the Rapid Support Forces. Observers noted that the RSF has been implicated in atrocities not only in Darfur but also in central Sudan, where they were recently dislodged by the Sudanese Armed Forces during battles in March. The video of the El Fasher killing was seen as another indication that the group continues to rely on terror and identity-based violence as a central part of its strategy.

In a strongly worded statement, the Civil Democratic Alliance of Revolutionary Forces (Sumoud), an anti-war civilian coalition led by former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, said the execution exposed the racist foundations of the war. The group described the killing as a crime that demonstrated how the conflict has been fueled by hatred and discrimination. According to the alliance, the attack targeted the most fundamental human rights, foremost among them the right to life and dignity, and proved the RSF has normalized impunity for crimes against civilians.

“With profound sorrow and grief, we in the Democratic Civil Alliance for Revolutionary Forces ‘Resilience’ have followed the heinous crime committed by one of the members of the Rapid Support Forces, which claimed the life of a civilian in a racist crime that reveals the true face of this war, built on hatred and discrimination, violating the most basic rights, foremost among them the right to life and human dignity,” the alliance said in a press statement seen by Sudans Post.

The alliance stressed that the killing was not an isolated case but part of a pattern of RSF violence that has repeatedly targeted communities in different parts of the country. It said the blood of Sudanese men and women is equal and should not be measured by tribe, region, or color, and warned that the continuation of such violations threatened the social fabric of the nation. The statement urged both accountability and solidarity among civilians.

“This crime is not an isolated incident but rather a continuation of a series of systematic violations that have targeted civilians across various parts of Sudan. With this, we in the Sumoud affirm that the blood of Sudanese men and women is one, not measured by tribe, region, or color.”

The alliance further called on the international community to intervene, saying only outside pressure could halt the cycle of impunity. It demanded urgent accountability for those responsible and urged Sudanese youth to unite against the RSF’s campaign of violence. The group said the struggle against hatred, regionalism, and war crimes was both a moral and national duty for all Sudanese determined to defend civilian life and dignity.

“As we extend our deepest condolences and sympathy to the family and loved ones of the martyr, we affirm that our moral and national duty compels us to demand an urgent and transparent investigation and the accountability of all those involved in this crime. We also call on the international community and justice institutions to exert maximum pressure to stop these violations and protect civilians,” the statement said.

“The ‘Resilience’ Alliance also calls on all revolutionary forces, particularly the youth, to unite in confronting these crimes, amplify the voices of the victims, stand in solidarity with their families, reject the discourse of hatred and regionalism, and work to rebuild the social fabric torn apart by this catastrophic war,” it added.

Opposition leader Omer Eldigair, chairman of the Sudanese Congress Party (SCP), also condemned the killing and described it as a gross violation of international humanitarian law. Eldigair said the crime highlighted the RSF’s total disregard for the sanctity of human life and warned that such actions had now become a defining feature of the conflict. He said the video revealed to the world the extent of brutality inflicted on unarmed civilians.

“The horrific incident revealed by the circulated video, which shows the execution of an unarmed citizen by a member of the Rapid Support Forces, is a blatant violation of human dignity and international humanitarian law. We condemn this crime, which represents the most heinous form of contempt for the sanctity of human life and shakes every living conscience,” Eldigair wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

He reiterated his demand for an independent investigation into the atrocity, saying Sudan could not move forward while perpetrators remained unpunished. Eldigair warned that the continuation of war would bring only more killing, violations, and destruction, and argued that it was the urgent duty of Sudanese leaders to stop the fighting immediately. He called for dialogue and a political solution that could set the foundation for rebuilding the nation.

“We renew the call for an independent investigation into this and other war violations to identify the perpetrators and hold them accountable. The continuation of the war brings nothing but more killing, violations, and destruction. The urgent duty is to stop it immediately to protect the lives and dignity of Sudanese people and to resort to a peaceful political solution to achieve the conditions for sustainable peace and rebuild the nation on new foundations agreed upon by all,” he added.

Emergency Lawyers, a coalition of Sudanese rights defenders, said the killing highlighted the RSF’s pattern of repeated atrocities and demanded that the international community pursue accountability. The group described the El Fasher execution as one of the clearest cases of extrajudicial killing and said it reflected the wider absence of legal or moral restraint among the paramilitary group’s ranks. The lawyers pointed out that the officer in the video, Brigadier General Al-Fateh Idris, better known as “Abululo,” had been implicated in similar crimes before.

“A widely circulated video documented a horrific crime in El Fasher, where a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) officer executed an unarmed civilian in cold blood. The scene reflects the most extreme forms of field executions and serious human rights violations. Despite repeated RSF statements condemning such behavior and pledging investigations, no real results have been announced, and the soldiers have not been held accountable, confirming the continued impunity. The officer shown in the video, Al-Fateh Idris, also known as ‘Abululo,’ has previously been documented committing similar incidents, proving that this is not an isolated case but part of a repeated and systematic pattern,” the statement said.

The lawyers’ group described the crime as both a war crime and a crime against humanity and said the RSF leadership bore full responsibility. They argued that the decision to record and broadcast such executions was part of a deliberate strategy of intimidation. The group called for immediate protection of civilians in El Fasher and warned that without accountability, violations would continue unchecked.

“This crime constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity, and we hold the RSF leadership fully responsible. Recording and broadcasting this crime highlights the absence of any legal or moral deterrent and exposes the systematic use of extrajudicial killings as a tool of intimidation,” it said.

In conclusion, the lawyers urged the international community to take concrete steps to bring the perpetrators to justice. They stressed that accountability was the only way to halt impunity and restore justice to civilians across Sudan. The group said justice for the victims of El Fasher and other atrocities was essential to protecting Sudanese communities from further violations and to laying the foundation for peace.

“We call for an urgent and independent international investigation, the public disclosure of its results, and the prosecution of the responsible officer and those behind him, handing them over to international justice. Immediate protection must also be provided to civilians in El Fasher and other areas affected by violations. Investigation, accountability, and bringing perpetrators to justice are urgent necessities to halt impunity, restore justice, and protect civilians from further violations,” the statement concluded.