https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, rose together after Omar al-Bashir's removal in 2019 and jointly ran Sudan after the 2021 military takeover, until a dispute over folding the Rapid Support Forces into the army turned into open war on 15 April 2023. The army retook Khartoum in March 2025 while the RSF took El Fasher and set up a rival government in Darfur. The United States has sanctioned both men and determined that the RSF committed genocide, and UN agencies describe one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.enhttps://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e39burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-a21940acddFri, 16 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000The army said its air attacks on Nyala killed dozens of RSF fighters and hit command centres. The RSF said an army drone hit a livestock market and killed 30 civilians, AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e38burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-d63b421877Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000Speaking in Merowe, Burhan said there would be no negotiations and vowed to retake every inch of RSF-held territory, The New Arab and Radio Tamazuj reported. Radio Tamazuj said the army wanted changes to the US 90-day ceasefire proposal, including an RSF withdrawal from cities.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e37burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-04375c1663Tue, 22 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Reuters, citing sources, reported that the US was tying Burhan's visa for the UN General Assembly to his acceptance of a 90-day ceasefire proposed by adviser Massad Boulos. The State Department said neither force represented legitimate governance, and Sudan's foreign ministry criticised the US.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e36burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-e704d118a5Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000In a video released by the RSF, Dagalo told fighters to march on Khartoum, days after the army and its allies took the Kordofan town of Bara, The National reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e35burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-f05f6a75d7Sun, 12 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000A court in army-held Port Sudan convicted Dagalo and 15 others in absentia of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide over killings in West Darfur, AFP reported, citing the state news agency SUNA. The court said it would refer the case to the Supreme Court for review. The RSF has repeatedly denied such allegations, and Al Jazeera reported that the RSF-led Sudan Founding Alliance rejected the ruling.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e34burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-191d02d0daMon, 06 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000After an urgent debate, the Human Rights Council adopted without a vote a resolution condemning escalating RSF violence in and around El Obeid and calling on the fact-finding mission to conduct an urgent inquiry. The states requesting the debate said about 500,000 civilians were at risk.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e33burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-2b433994ccWed, 15 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000Donors meeting in Berlin on the war's third anniversary pledged more than one billion euros, though reported totals differed, and neither the army nor the RSF attended. The army-aligned foreign ministry said it had not been consulted. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher had said nearly 34 million people needed aid.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e32burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-85147e1e8aThu, 19 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan said RSF operations in El Fasher, mainly against Zaghawa and Fur civilians, bore hallmarks of genocide and that genocidal intent was the only reasonable inference.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e31burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-010a45bddbTue, 03 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000The army said its forces had reached Kadugli, capital of South Kordofan, ending an RSF siege of more than two years, the Associated Press reported. The RSF had not responded and the claim was not independently verified.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e30burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-f2eb6c2389Mon, 19 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told the UN Security Council that her office had concluded war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed in El Fasher after the RSF siege, and that it was also documenting alleged crimes by the army.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e29burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-453e963874Sun, 11 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000Prime Minister Kamil Idris announced the government's return to Khartoum after nearly three years in Port Sudan. The UN said 1.2 million people had returned to the capital between March and October 2025.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e28burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-1770f851acMon, 24 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0000In a recorded address, Dagalo announced a three-month humanitarian truce and said the RSF approved a field monitoring mechanism, Al Jazeera reported. The RSF had said earlier in November that it agreed to a Quad truce proposal, then resumed drone strikes on army-held areas, the report said.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e27burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-85238bb8b4Sun, 23 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0000Burhan called the Quad's latest ceasefire proposal the worst yet, saying it would eliminate the armed forces and leave the RSF in its positions, and objected to the UAE's role in the group, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported. The UAE denies arming the RSF. Days earlier he had welcomed US and Saudi efforts toward peace after President Donald Trump said he would work on Sudan.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e26burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-e10b4099deTue, 04 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0000The Famine Review Committee of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed famine conditions in El Fasher and Kadugli and projected a risk of famine in 20 more areas, FAO, WFP and UNICEF said. They said 21.2 million people, 45 percent of the population, faced high levels of acute food insecurity by September 2025.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e25burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-3b811ee9f4Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0000In a speech on his Telegram channel, Dagalo said investigators had arrived in El Fasher and that anyone who made a mistake would be held to account, and vowed to defeat the army through peace or war, AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e24burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-35b82c53feMon, 27 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0000In a televised address, Burhan said he had approved the withdrawal because of the systematic destruction and killing of civilians, and vowed to fight until the land was purified, the BBC reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e23burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-ccea61476cSun, 26 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0000The RSF said it had captured the army headquarters in El Fasher, Reuters reported, and the BBC said the city's fall gave the RSF all five Darfur state capitals. The UN human rights office urged states with influence to act to prevent atrocities by RSF and allied fighters, and the RSF denied accusations that it was killing civilians.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e22burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-0f38fe2659Mon, 01 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0000The four countries, known as the Quad, proposed a three-month humanitarian truce followed by a permanent ceasefire and a nine-month transition to civilian-led government, Reuters reported. Neither side immediately responded.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e21burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-803fd27138Sat, 30 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0000Dagalo was sworn in as head of a presidential council in Nyala, which The National and Reuters described as the RSF's de facto capital. The army-aligned government, led by Prime Minister Kamil Idris since Burhan appointed him in May, had met days earlier.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e20burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-0a02f6f12bThu, 22 May 2025 12:00:00 +0000The State Department said the US had concluded that the Government of Sudan used chemical weapons in 2024 and would restrict US exports to Sudan and bar it from US government credit.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e19burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-ab67cd983eMon, 05 May 2025 12:00:00 +0000The International Court of Justice removed from its list Sudan's case accusing the UAE of breaching the Genocide Convention by arming and funding the RSF, saying it manifestly lacked jurisdiction because of a UAE reservation. The UAE said the case was baseless and that it is not involved in the war.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e18burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-ede43c198dTue, 15 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0000On the war's second anniversary, Dagalo announced a government with a 15-member presidential council, the Associated Press reported, after the RSF and allied groups signed a founding charter in February, according to two signatories who spoke to Reuters. The UN humanitarian office said an RSF attack on the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps in the preceding days had killed more than 400 people, citing local sources.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e17burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-6e19c476f8Sun, 30 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0000Dagalo acknowledged that his forces had left the capital and regrouped in Omdurman, and vowed to return to Khartoum stronger, Reuters reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e16burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-88fdffcc28Wed, 26 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0000Burhan landed at Khartoum airport hours after the army recaptured it and spoke at the presidential palace, which the army had retaken the previous Friday, the BBC reported. The army said it had recaptured all bridges across the Nile linking the three cities of Greater Khartoum.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e15burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-f68ea93d46Thu, 16 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000The Treasury sanctioned Burhan under Executive Order 14098, saying the army had struck schools, markets and hospitals and that he had refused to join international peace talks. It also designated an army defence industries official and a Hong Kong company.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e14burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-b3c2dae85fSat, 11 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000The army and its allies retook Wad Madani, which the RSF had held since December 2023, the Associated Press reported. The army said its forces were clearing the remaining fighters, and there was no immediate comment from the RSF.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e13burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-0278cb2770Tue, 07 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000Blinken concluded that members of the RSF and allied militias had committed genocide. The Treasury designated Dagalo the same day, and the Associated Press reported that seven RSF-owned companies in the UAE were also sanctioned.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e12burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-ec16980b23Sat, 24 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000Speaking in Port Sudan, Burhan said the government would not join the Swiss talks and that the army would fight for 100 years if necessary to defeat the RSF.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e11burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-9bbf51ef9eWed, 14 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000US-led talks with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE as mediators opened in Switzerland with an RSF delegation but no army delegation, which objected to the format. They ended on August 23 with agreement on two aid routes, through the Adre crossing and the Dabbah road, Al Jazeera reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/burhan-hemedti-sudan-war/#e10burhan-hemedti-sudan-war-f79ff0d086Mon, 18 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0000The RSF said it had seized the army's 1st Infantry Division headquarters and controlled Wad Madani, capital of Gezira state. The army confirmed its forces had withdrawn and said it was investigating why. The IOM said 250,000 to 300,000 people had fled Gezira state in four days.