In Darfur in western Sudan , Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti,” led the Janjaweed forces that spread terror in the region, before he imposed himself years later as a major player in the political and economic equation in Sudan.

At the beginning of the two thousand, Hemedti was not yet thirty years old, and he was just the leader of a small militia in western Sudan, adjacent to the Chadian border.

But he turned into a well-known war leader after many years of war in Darfur, during which atrocities were committed to suppress the rebellion of Arab tribes in the region, and former dictator Omar al-Bashir was charged with two international arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court on charges of committing "war crimes", "crimes against humanity and" genocide. Collective.” And he was able to climb to power.

At the helm of the Janjaweed, the tall man, under Bashir's orders, practiced a scorched earth policy in Darfur where more than 300,000 people have been killed and over 2.5 million displaced during the war.

Hamidti extended his sphere of influence from Darfur, where he still maintains his headquarters, to Khartoum and its corridors of power, and he established links with diplomatic circles and was able to conclude secret trade agreements to a certain extent.

The Rapid Intervention Forces, which were established in 2013, have turned into an auxiliary force for the army, which includes thousands of elements who are currently seeking to seize power.

Since the revolution that toppled Omar al-Bashir in 2019, he has been working to improve his image and win new allies.

During the revolution, the Rapid Intervention Forces were accused of forcibly dispersing a peaceful sit-in demanding democracy in Khartoum, which resulted in dozens of deaths, according to official figures.

On October 25, 2021, Hemedti supported the army chief, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in his coup that removed civilians from power.

However, with the passage of time, he began to criticize the army and al-Burhan, whom he described as a "criminal" who "destroyed the country" and "clinged to power." And he came to present himself as a defender of the civil state and a bitter opponent of political Islam, which generally supports the proof. He joined the civilians in condemning the army, noting that it defends the "achievements of the revolution" in 2019.

For months, Hamidti has become strongly present on social networks through several accounts on “Facebook”, “Twitter”, “Instagram” and “Tik Tok”, through which he addresses the youth in a country where two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30.

He was born in 1975 into a nomadic Arab tribe on the border between Sudan and Chad. He clearly maintains a Western accent when he speaks.

Hemedti was used to the tribal councils and was fond of visits to the forces or to the villages. He has traveled the country repeatedly to meet the local chiefs who were the main pillars of the Bashir regime.

Hemedti appears sometimes in the military uniform he wore for the first time in the early 2000s, and at other times in elegant uniforms that he allocates to attend political meetings as the second man in power that has become monopolized by the military since the coup in October 2021 that removed civilians from power, after a short period during which they shared power with the army. .

By sending men to fight alongside the military coalition led by Riyadh in Yemen in 2015, he gained political allies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Hamidti, whose gray hair is black, usually wears a gold ring in each hand, and has a strong economic card, as the Rapid Support Forces run many gold mines, according to the "European Council on Foreign Relations" research center (European Council on Foreign Relations).

The United States confirms that the Russian armed "Wagner" forces present in several African countries neighboring Sudan are working with the Rapid Support Forces in those mines.

However, Hemeti's good relations with Russia are confirmed. Upon his arrival in Moscow, the day after the invasion of Ukraine, he succeeded in meeting with senior officials in the state.

In Sudan, Hemedti has been presenting himself as a referee for some time.

Nearly a year ago, he surprised everyone with a statement in which he considered the coup a "failure," announcing that he would intervene if the country was heading "towards the abyss."