A high-ranking Sudanese paramilitary officer who was jailed following international condemnation over footage showing him killing defenseless civilians has been freed from custody and sent back to active combat, according to nine sources who spoke with Reuters.
Two sources – including a Sudanese intelligence official and a commander from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – reported personally witnessing RSF Brigadier General al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, nicknamed Abu Lulu, fighting in Kordofan during March. A Chadian military officer informed Reuters that RSF officers had requested Abu Lulu’s return to combat to improve troop morale amid intense fighting.
Reuters interviewed 13 total sources claiming knowledge of Abu Lulu’s release, including three RSF commanders, one RSF officer, a family member of Abu Lulu, a Chadian military officer with RSF command connections, and seven additional sources with RSF leadership contacts or intelligence access regarding RSF field activities.
When questioned by Reuters, the RSF-led coalition government issued a Monday statement rejecting claims that Abu Lulu had been released. Ahmed Tugud Lisan, spokesman for the RSF-led Tasis government, said a special court would prosecute him and others charged with violations during the al-Fashir offensive.
“The talk about Abu Lulu being released is untrue, malicious, and completely false,” the statement said. “Abu Lulu and the others accused of violations during the liberation of al-Fashir have been in detention since their arrest and have never left prison.”
Reuters could not contact Abu Lulu directly.
SANCTIONS CITE WAR CRIMES
The RSF detained Abu Lulu in late October 2025, days following its violent capture of al-Fashir, a major North Darfur city. Several videos had emerged showing him killing defenseless individuals during the assault. His conduct led to the nickname “the butcher of al-Fashir,” which the U.N. Security Council referenced when imposing sanctions on him February 24 for human rights violations.
The three-year civil conflict between Sudan’s army and the RSF represents a vicious power battle for national control and financial resources. Aid organizations describe it as creating the world’s most severe humanitarian emergency. An independent U.N. investigation determined earlier this year that the mass murders in al-Fashir showed characteristics of genocide. Another U.N. investigation documented over 6,000 deaths by RSF fighters between October 25-27.
Four videos authenticated by Reuters demonstrate Abu Lulu shooting no fewer than 15 defenseless captives in al-Fashir on October 27, following the RSF’s city takeover. All victims wore civilian clothes. International law considers killing any unarmed, non-threatening person – including former combatants – a war crime.
Following international condemnation from U.N. officials, U.S. politicians and others, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, called Hemedti, publicly admitted his fighters committed violations in al-Fashir and promised to establish an accountability committee for investigating abuses. On October 30, the RSF published video of Abu Lulu being transported to Shala prison in southwestern al-Fashir. The footage shows a handcuffed Abu Lulu being removed from a vehicle by armed personnel and placed in a cell. An unnamed RSF spokesperson at the prison states Abu Lulu “will be presented to a just trial in accordance with the law.”
In November, Al Jazeera reported Abu Lulu’s release, referencing unspecified online videos. However, on December 2, the leader of the RSF-appointed accountability committee informed Reuters they held Abu Lulu in custody while investigating him and other RSF soldiers for al-Fashir violations. Al Jazeera did not respond to Reuters’ questions about their November coverage.
Four sources informed Reuters that Abu Lulu was freed in December. Reuters could not verify his exact release date.
The family member stated that before Abu Lulu received authorization to resume Kordofan duties, he appeared before a November disciplinary panel of six senior officers. The hearing addressed videos featuring him that harmed the RSF’s image. Reuters could not confirm the hearing occurred or its results.
Abu Lulu belongs to the same clan as Hemedti, the RSF leader. Three sources – an RSF commander and RSF officer both connected to RSF leadership, plus a researcher with committee contacts investigating Abu Lulu – said Hemedti’s brother, Abdelrahim Dagalo, the RSF deputy commander, personally authorized Abu Lulu’s prison release.
The RSF officer explained that while the disciplinary committee had not formally released Abu Lulu, the deputy commander ordered his freedom through radio communication.
COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY
The Abu Lulu videos represent part of nearly 300 online videos from the offensive period analyzed by Reuters and the Sudan Witness project at the Centre for Information Resilience.
Abu Lulu was the sole commander Reuters identified in video footage shooting unarmed individuals. However, the Reuters-Sudan Witness investigation discovered three additional senior RSF commanders were present in the same location during the mass killings.
One Reuters-verified video shows Gedo Hamdan Abu Nashuk, the top RSF commander for North Darfur, walking beside Abu Lulu on October 27 morning. Reuters geolocated videos from this location and found Nashuk was recorded within 40 meters of two other videos showing Abu Lulu executing defenseless men. By analyzing shadows in the three videos, Reuters determined they were filmed within a two-hour timeframe.
Under international law, these leaders could face criminal liability for crimes their fighters committed during the conflict, according to Jehanne Henry, a human rights attorney and Sudan director at The Reckoning Project, a U.S. non-profit documenting war crimes.
The RSF did not address questions regarding specific commander actions during the al-Fashir offensive. On October 29, Hemedti stated that any soldier or officer committing crimes would face arrest and investigation, with results made public.
The RSF government has been delayed in prosecuting those accused of violations, spokesman Lisan explained, because it is “establishing state structures under difficult circumstances.”
“We are committed to achieving justice and holding all those who commit violations accountable,” Lisan said. “Any talk to the contrary is deliberate misinformation.”
WITNESS ACCOUNTS
Reuters interviewed six survivors in Chadian refugee camps who reported witnessing Abu Lulu killing civilians in al-Fashir before fleeing in October 2025.
Manazil Mousa, 25, identified Abu Lulu from videos a Reuters reporter showed her and said she encountered him while her family was escaping al-Fashir. She said he confiscated their phones and possessions, severely beat them, and shot and killed her brother, Mubarak.
“Abu Lulu is the one who abused us,” she said. “He was the one who killed Mubarak. He is the one who killed our families and killed our husbands.”
Madina Adam, 38, reported that Abu Lulu entered Al-Fashir University on October 27, where she was taking shelter with other civilians, and began killing women and children.
She recounted one incident where Abu Lulu asked a pregnant woman about her pregnancy stage, and when she answered “seven months,” he shot her seven times in the stomach. Two witnesses described the identical scene in a February U.N. report.
Adam said Abu Lulu then ordered 10 children to sit down and made them chant RSF slogans while recording. The children begged not to be killed, she said, but he shot all 10.
SECRECY ORDERED
An RSF commander reported that leadership instructed other officers to remain silent about Abu Lulu’s combat return. A different RSF commander and the relative said Abu Lulu was freed under conditions prohibiting him from filming or being filmed during battle. Reuters has found no images of him in action since his release.
“He has been free for about three or four months and is on the battlefield with his troops,” said one RSF commander, who declined to be named.
Abu Lulu’s relative explained the RSF required the commander’s expertise because its forces are encountering difficulties. After securing al-Fashir control, the RSF moved its offensive eastward into Kordofan region, between its territory and army-controlled areas. It has experienced fierce combat there.
“He is very popular with the troops and that’s good for their morale,” the relative said.
In multiple videos verified by Reuters and Sudan Witness, other RSF fighters celebrate Abu Lulu and his killings. In one filmed and posted online November 1, 2025, by Salah Abdeen Mohamed Azala, an RSF fighter, Azala states many fighters are prepared to replace Abu Lulu.
“If Abu Lulu disappeared, or you arrested him or tried him, we are all 1,000 Abu Lulus,” he says, speaking to the camera. “I too am Abu Lulu.”
