Sudan’s Emergency Lawyers said on Monday that the defection of commanders from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) does not exempt them from individual criminal responsibility for violations they may have committed, stressing that moving between parties to the conflict does not grant any legal protection.
The group stated that “this responsibility is neither reformulated nor nullified by the loss of the position the accused held at the time the acts were committed, once the elements of direct or indirect criminal attribution within the chain of command or effective control are established.”
Several RSF commanders have defected in recent months, most notably Abu Aqla Keikal, the force’s operations commander in Al Jazira State, in late 2024, and Major General Al-Nour Al-Quba a few weeks ago.
The Emergency Lawyers group further explained that “criminal responsibility is not limited to direct perpetrators, but also extends to commanders who were aware, or should have been aware, of the violations and failed to take the necessary measures to prevent, stop, or punish those responsible.”
