A former officer from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has claimed that RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo personally took part in fighting alongside his troops during battles around the SAF’s General Command headquarters in Khartoum at the start of the war.
According to the report published by Al-Savana, the defected officer said Hemedti was present on the front lines during clashes near the headquarters of General al-Burhan’s SAF in April 2023, fighting directly alongside RSF fighters.
The officer further alleged that Hemedti was wounded during the confrontations, though no details were provided regarding the nature or severity of the injury.
The account has revived debate over Dagalo’s role during the opening hours of the conflict that erupted on April 15, 2023 between the RSF and forces loyal to SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Observers cited by the report suggested two possible interpretations of Dagalo’s reported battlefield presence.
One interpretation portrays the RSF commander as taking a direct leadership role by remaining with his fighters on the battlefield instead of directing operations remotely from a secure location.
A second interpretation suggests RSF leadership may not have been fully prepared for the outbreak of hostilities that morning and that Dagalo was caught off guard by the rapid escalation, forcing him into direct combat from the first hours of the war.
The report argued that Dagalo’s alleged participation on the front lines reinforces claims by RSF-aligned figures that the Sudanese force did not initiate the war and was not fully prepared for the confrontation when fighting erupted in Khartoum.
