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Report: ‘Abu Lulu’, RSF Commander Who Was Filmed Killing Civilians in Sudan, Is Back in Combat

RSF Brigadier General al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, known as Abu Lulu, was reportedly seen on the battlefield in Kordofan in March. (AFP file)
RSF Brigadier General al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, known as Abu Lulu, was reportedly seen on the battlefield in Kordofan in March. (AFP file)
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Report: ‘Abu Lulu’, RSF Commander Who Was Filmed Killing Civilians in Sudan, Is Back in Combat

RSF Brigadier General al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, known as Abu Lulu, was reportedly seen on the battlefield in Kordofan in March. (AFP file)
RSF Brigadier General al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, known as Abu Lulu, was reportedly seen on the battlefield in Kordofan in March. (AFP file)

A Sudanese paramilitary commander who was arrested late last year following global outrage over videos of him executing unarmed people in al-Fashir has been released from prison and returned to active duty on the battlefield, nine sources told Reuters.

Two of the sources – a Sudanese intelligence official and a commander with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – said they personally saw RSF Brigadier General al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, known as Abu Lulu, on the battlefield in Kordofan in March.

RSF officers had pleaded for Abu Lulu to be returned to the field to boost the morale of forces engulfed in heavy fighting there, a Chadian military officer told Reuters.

In total, Reuters spoke with 13 sources who said they knew of Abu Lulu’s release. They include three RSF commanders, an RSF officer, a relative of Abu Lulu, a Chadian military officer close to RSF command and seven other sources with contacts in RSF leadership or access to intelligence on RSF field operations.

The RSF-led coalition government, in response to questions from Reuters, issued a statement on Monday denying the group had released Abu Lulu. A special court will try him and others accused of violations during the al-Fashir offensive, according to the statement from Ahmed Tugud Lisan, spokesman for the RSF-led Tasis government.

“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 was unable to reach Abu Lulu.

SANCTIONS CITE WAR CRIMES

The RSF imprisoned Abu Lulu in late October 2025, a few days after its bloody takeover of al-Fashir, a large city in North Darfur. Multiple videos had surfaced of him executing unarmed people during the offensive. His actions earned him the nickname “the butcher of al-Fashir,” a moniker noted by the UN Security Council when sanctioning him on February 24 for human rights abuses.

The three-year civil war between the Sudanese army and the RSF is a brutal power struggle to control the country and its financial resources. It has created what aid groups say is the world's largest humanitarian ‌crisis.

Earlier this year, an independent ‌UN probe found that the mass killings in al-Fashir bear the hallmarks of genocide. A separate UN probe found more than 6,000 people were killed by RSF fighters from ‌October 25 ⁠to 27.

Four videos verified ⁠by Reuters show Abu Lulu shooting at least 15 unarmed captives in al-Fashir on October 27, after the RSF seized the city. All were wearing civilian clothing. It is considered a war crime under international law to kill anyone, even a former fighter, who is unarmed and not posing a threat.

After international outcry by UN leaders, US politicians and others, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, publicly acknowledged violations by his fighters in al-Fashir and said an accountability committee would be set up to investigate any abuses.

On October 30, the RSF released a video of Abu Lulu being driven to Shala prison, in southwestern al-Fashir. In the video, a handcuffed Abu Lulu is escorted from a vehicle flanked by armed men and placed behind bars. An unidentified RSF spokesperson standing in front of the prison says Abu Lulu “will be presented to a just trial in accordance with the law.”

In November, Al Jazeera published a story saying Abu Lulu had been released, citing unspecified online videos. But on December 2, the head of the RSF-appointed accountability committee told Reuters that it had Abu Lulu in custody and was investigating him and several other RSF soldiers in connection with violations committed in al-Fashir. Al Jazeera did not respond to questions from Reuters about its November report.

Four sources told Reuters Abu Lulu was released in December. Reuters was unable to confirm when he was freed.

The relative said that before Abu Lulu ⁠was authorized to return to duty in Kordofan, he appeared in November before a disciplinary board made up of six senior officers. The hearing was about videos he appeared in that ‌damaged the RSF’s reputation.

Reuters was unable to confirm the hearing took place or determine its outcome.

Abu Lulu is from the same clan as Hemedti, the RSF leader. Hemedti’s ‌brother, Abdelrahim Dagalo, the deputy commander of the RSF, personally ordered Abu Lulu’s release from prison, according to three sources – an RSF commander and an RSF officer both close to RSF leadership and a researcher with contacts in the committee tasked with investigating Abu Lulu.

The RSF officer said ‌that the disciplinary committee had not officially released Abu Lulu but that the deputy commander had ordered his release via radio message.

COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY

The videos of Abu Lulu are among nearly 300 videos posted online around the time of the offensive and ‌analyzed by Reuters and the Sudan Witness project at the Center for Information Resilience.

Abu Lulu was the only commander Reuters identified in video shooting unarmed people. But the Reuters-Sudan Witness investigation also found that three other senior RSF commanders were in the same area when the mass killings took place.

One video verified by Reuters shows Gedo Hamdan Abu Nashuk, the highest ranking RSF commander for the region of North Darfur, walking alongside Abu Lulu on the morning of October 27. Reuters geolocated videos from this area and found that Nashuk was recorded within 40 meters of two other videos that showed Abu Lulu executing unarmed men. By measuring shadows in the three videos, Reuters found that the videos were filmed within the same two-hour window.

Under international law, these leaders may be held criminally liable for crimes committed by their fighters during the conflict, said Jehanne Henry, a human rights lawyer and Sudan ‌director at The Reckoning Project, a US non-profit that documents war crimes.

The RSF did not respond to questions about the specific actions of any commanders present during the al-Fashir offensive. On October 29, Hemedti said that any soldier or officer who committed a crime would be arrested and investigated, with the results publicized.

The RSF government has been delayed in ⁠trying those accused of violations, spokesman Lisan said, 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 spoke with six survivors in refugee camps in Chad who said they witnessed Abu Lulu killing civilians in al-Fashir before they fled in October 2025.

Manazil Mousa, 25, recognized Abu Lulu from videos shown to her by a Reuters reporter and said she met him on the road out of al-Fashir as she and her family were fleeing. There, she said, he took their phones and all of their belongings, beat them severely 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, said Abu Lulu entered Al-Fashir University on October 27, where she was sheltering with other civilians, and started to kill women and children. She described one moment when Abu Lulu asked a pregnant woman how many months along she was, and when she responded “seven months,” he shot her seven times in her stomach with his gun. The same scene was described by two witnesses in a UN report published in February.

Adam said Abu Lulu then asked a group of 10 children to sit on the ground and forced them to chant RSF slogans while he filmed. The children asked not to be killed, she said, but he shot all 10 of them.

SECRECY ORDERED

An RSF commander said leadership ordered other officers to keep quiet about Abu Lulu’s return to combat. A different RSF commander and the relative said Abu Lulu was released on the condition that he not film or be filmed on the battlefield. Reuters has not found any 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 said the RSF needed the commander’s services because its forces are struggling. After cementing control of al-Fashir, the RSF shifted its offensive eastward into the Kordofan region, between its territory and army-held areas. It has faced intense fighting there.

“He is very popular with the troops and that’s good for their morale,” the relative said.

In several videos verified by Reuters and Sudan Witness, other RSF fighters praise Abu Lulu and his killings. In one, filmed and posted online on November 1, 2025, by Salah Abdeen Mohamed Azala, an RSF fighter, Azala says many fighters are ready to take Abu Lulu’s place.

“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.”

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Arab World

Contaminated Gasoline Sparks Fears Over Diesel Quality in Syria

A gas station in Damascus displays fuel prices following the latest increase, which sparked protests in several Syrian cities (Reuters). 
A gas station in Damascus displays fuel prices following the latest increase, which sparked protests in several Syrian cities (Reuters). 
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Contaminated Gasoline Sparks Fears Over Diesel Quality in Syria

A gas station in Damascus displays fuel prices following the latest increase, which sparked protests in several Syrian cities (Reuters). 
A gas station in Damascus displays fuel prices following the latest increase, which sparked protests in several Syrian cities (Reuters). 

A video of a young girl collecting animal dung for heating in northeastern Syria has revived memories of bitter winters during the war, as rising fuel prices, a weakening currency and a scandal involving contaminated gasoline fuel concerns over a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

The widely circulated footage shows the girl gathering dung from farmland in rural Hasakah to make "jalla", a traditional fuel used for heating. With winter approaching, she explains that diesel is too expensive to obtain.

The images brought back painful memories for Fatima Hamid, 49, who fled Deir Ezzor for Sahnaya, near Damascus, where she spent several years living with her three children in a cold, dark basement.

For Hamid, the recent increase in diesel prices and plans to introduce a cheaper, lower-quality heating fuel have revived fears of the hardships she endured.

“Under Assad, they used to sell us tiny quantities of black diesel, thick as mud, for our heaters. Its smell would suffocate us,” she recalled.

“Today, we fear the cheaper diesel they’re talking about will be like the red gasoline that damaged cars.”

Fuel prices rise as pound weakens

Syria’s Energy Ministry raised diesel and other petroleum product prices by 40% in September, increasing the price of diesel from 125 to 175 Syrian pounds per liter.

Authorities subsequently introduced a lower-quality, subsidized diesel for heating and agricultural use at 115 pounds per liter.

The Syrian pound weakened against the dollar on Tuesday, with the exchange rate exceeding 141 pounds to the dollar after several months of stability at around 130.

Economists linked the depreciation to inflationary pressures resulting from higher fuel prices.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Petroleum Company recently refused to unload two diesel tankers because their cargoes failed to meet required specifications.

Oday al-Sattouf, the company’s media department director, announced that a tanker carrying 16,000 tons of diesel had begun docking and unloading at storage facilities in the port of Baniyas, while a second vessel was awaiting its turn.

The shipments are intended to meet growing demand ahead of winter.

Speaking to the official SANA news agency, al-Sattouf outlined measures to address shortages, including coordinating with the Homs refinery to increase production and supply diesel to all provinces at 150 pounds per liter.

Additional quantities priced at 115 pounds per liter would be produced at Hasakah refineries, while remaining stocks at the Tishreen and Baniyas storage facilities would also be used.

He expected supplies to stabilize as deliveries became regular and the Baniyas refinery resumed operations.

Contaminated gasoline sparks anger

The controversy over contaminated gasoline distributed in Syrian markets has continued since the beginning of October.

It followed fuel shortages and widespread confusion after authorities raised the price of 90-octane gasoline to 185 pounds per liter and 95-octane gasoline to 195 pounds.

An employee at a Damascus filling station told Asharq Al-Awsat that the adulterated fuel had been withdrawn from all government-run Sadcop stations.

Supplies of gasoline meeting the required specifications began reaching those outlets early Tuesday, following quality checks at both the source and delivery points in Damascus.

The additional inspections delayed deliveries to filling stations in several provinces, the employee explained.

He denied that there was a gasoline shortage and advised motorists to use government stations until the remaining contaminated fuel had been removed from private-sector outlets.

Khaled Jamal al-Khalaf, a member of the Syrian People’s Assembly’s fuel committee, has called for the dismissal and prosecution of Syrian Petroleum Company director Youssef Qablawi.

Speaking on Syria’s state news channel on Sunday, al-Khalaf held Qablawi fully responsible for what he described as the “contaminated gasoline disaster,” citing extensive damage to motorists’ vehicles.

At a car repair workshop in Damascus, Fadi al-Akram was trying to drain the contaminated gasoline from his vehicle and assess the damage to its fuel pump.

He estimated his initial loss at two million Syrian pounds for the gasoline alone, while repairs could cost another five million.

Al-Akram questioned who would compensate him for the damage.

Investigation results pending

Authorities have yet to announce the findings of an investigation into the contaminated gasoline.

The Syrian Company for the Storage and Distribution of Petroleum Products, Sadcop, previously announced an inquiry into the source of the substandard fuel and how it had reached filling stations.

In a statement issued amid mounting complaints, the company reported that tests on samples collected at different stages of the supply chain showed compliance with approved specifications.

It nevertheless acknowledged that cases of fuel failing to meet quality standards had been detected in the domestic market.

 

 

 

 

Arab World

Hezbollah Aid to Displaced Families Raises Questions Over Funding Sources

A woman and her daughter, displaced from their home in the South Lebanon village of Aita al-Shaab in 2023, live in a rented apartment in the southern town of Maarakeh (EPA). 
A woman and her daughter, displaced from their home in the South Lebanon village of Aita al-Shaab in 2023, live in a rented apartment in the southern town of Maarakeh (EPA). 
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Hezbollah Aid to Displaced Families Raises Questions Over Funding Sources

A woman and her daughter, displaced from their home in the South Lebanon village of Aita al-Shaab in 2023, live in a rented apartment in the southern town of Maarakeh (EPA). 
A woman and her daughter, displaced from their home in the South Lebanon village of Aita al-Shaab in 2023, live in a rented apartment in the southern town of Maarakeh (EPA). 

Hezbollah’s announcement of financial assistance for displaced Lebanese families and those affected by the fighting with Israel has raised questions about where the money comes from and how it is transferred and distributed, amid US sanctions on Iran and tighter Lebanese oversight of funding channels.

The announcement also comes as Lebanese authorities move to place all weapons under the control of legitimate state forces.

Meanwhile, President Joseph Aoun received a telephone call from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss regional developments. According to the Lebanese presidency, the two agreed on the need to support diplomatic solutions as the best way to end conflicts in the region.

Hezbollah’s funding sources

Hezbollah has traditionally relied on direct Iranian support, donations from sympathizers abroad and commercial activities, as well as illicit sources that US authorities accuse the group of exploiting.

Lebanese authorities, meanwhile, are seeking to strengthen financial regulations and oversight, particularly through proposed amendments to Law No. 44 on combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

The changes aim to identify the beneficial owners of companies and commercial ventures, trace the origins and destinations of funds, and tighten supervision of currency exchange dealers and money transfer companies.

US questions reported Iranian funding

A US State Department spokesperson has questioned, for a second time, reports of money reaching Hezbollah from Iran.

“The money supposedly arriving from Iran simply does not exist,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

The official accused Hezbollah of relying on criminal activities, including drug trafficking and partnerships with Latin American drug cartels, to compensate for funds it was not receiving from Tehran.

No detailed public evidence was provided to substantiate the allegations.

The spokesperson described Hezbollah’s aid announcement as an attempt to salvage its reputation rather than help those it had drawn into war. The official also accused the group of dragging Lebanon into war in a “suicidal” manner, arguing that even if Hezbollah had the money, it would use it to purchase weapons to threaten Israel and intimidate its opponents.

Hezbollah’s weapons, the spokesperson added, had brought Lebanon nothing but misery and destruction.

The official said Washington was working with Gulf and European partners on a plan to make billions of dollars available for Lebanon’s reconstruction, without specifying a final amount or implementation timetable.

Disarming Hezbollah was an essential part of efforts to restore stability and prevent renewed conflict, he stressed.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah announced a financial assistance program for displaced families whose homes had been destroyed or damaged and who had no alternative accommodation.

The program covers rent and furniture expenses of up to $14,000, payable over one year.

The announcement came days after Reuters reported that Hezbollah had received $200 million from Iran to assist displaced Lebanese families, a claim also questioned by Washington.

Questions over alternative funding channels

Sami Nader, director of the Middle East Institute for Strategic Affairs, told Asharq Al-Awsat that US skepticism suggested Washington was closely monitoring Hezbollah’s potential funding sources.

However, he did not rule out the possibility that Iran and Hezbollah had recently developed new methods of transferring money, including cryptocurrencies or gold.

Nader said US trade monitoring and tighter financial restrictions posed challenges to such channels, potentially explaining the latest round of sanctions. He stressed the need for Lebanon to enforce its financial laws across all sectors.

“The Lebanese state must enforce the laws as it did with Al-Qard Al-Hassan, and oversight must cover all areas,” he said.

Nader called for scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchange offices to determine whether they complied with Lebanese regulations, adding that new legislation might be needed to address emerging financial mechanisms.

Concerns over Lebanon’s financial standing

Lebanese Forces lawmaker Razi al-Hajj accused Hezbollah of trying to project the same strength it possessed before the two wars, while disregarding the deaths, injuries and economic collapse that followed.

He also accused the group of attempting to shift responsibility onto the government, which he said had already shouldered more than it could manage. While affirming that those affected by the fighting were entitled to assistance, al-Hajj said the central issue was enforcing laws against money laundering and terrorist financing.

He warned that failures in this area could damage Lebanon’s financial standing and international relations.

The deputy argued that Hezbollah’s funding, which he characterized as generally originating from illicit sources, posed a threat to state stability and ties with the international community.

He also warned that Lebanon could move from the Financial Action Task Force’s gray list to its blacklist.

Transparency must apply to everyone

Lawmaker Fouad Makhzoumi said demands for transparency and verification of funding sources, transfer methods and distribution mechanisms should apply to everyone without exception.

Writing on X, he warned of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, particularly given Lebanon’s inclusion on the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Makhzoumi also urged the government to assume responsibility for providing shelter and assistance to displaced families, stressing that no Lebanese citizen should be left to face hardship alone.

 

 

Arab World

Sudan's Famine Risk Worsened by Conflict, Drought and Funding Shortages

A Sudanese farmer plants seeds in an agricultural field in Gedaref State, eastern Sudan, on July 18, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A Sudanese farmer plants seeds in an agricultural field in Gedaref State, eastern Sudan, on July 18, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Sudan's Famine Risk Worsened by Conflict, Drought and Funding Shortages

A Sudanese farmer plants seeds in an agricultural field in Gedaref State, eastern Sudan, on July 18, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A Sudanese farmer plants seeds in an agricultural field in Gedaref State, eastern Sudan, on July 18, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Conflict and drought are worsening food insecurity across parts of Sudan’s Darfur and Kordofan regions, a global food crisis monitor warned on Monday.

There is a “deteriorating humanitarian situation” across greater Darfur and Kordofan, including areas identified as at risk of famine, as well as other locations, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC.

Severe drought linked to El Niño is affecting more than half of Sudan, causing localized crop failures and depriving households of food and income, it said.

In May, nearly 19.5 million people — more than 40% of the population — were facing high levels of acute food insecurity, according to an IPC assessment. Of those, 135,000 were in Phase 5, the most severe classification, characterized by extreme food shortages, starvation, very high levels of malnutrition and deaths from disease or acute malnutrition.

Sudan’s war erupted in April 2023 when tensions between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, escalated into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, before spreading across the country. The conflict has killed at least 150,000 people, according to conflict monitor ACLED, though aid groups say the true toll is likely higher.

The war has also displaced about 13 million people and pushed parts of the country into famine.

Farmers’ livelihoods have been affected, and they're now relying more on assistance, the IPC said. Without a quick and significant increase in assistance to Sudan, “food insecurity, acute malnutrition, and excess mortality will likely intensify," the group said.

Poor levels of growth have affected 64% of croplands in North Darfur and about half in South Darfur, West Kordofan and South Kordofan.

The IPC reported worsening acute malnutrition in additional areas, including Nyala, where children accessing nutrition services who were admitted for severe acute malnutrition doubled from approximately 5% to 11% between January and August. Two displacement camps in South Darfur also recorded global acute malnutrition above famine thresholds.

In North Darfur, delayed rains that impacted crop cultivation and “critically low” food stocks have worsened food insecurity. Meanwhile, Western Kordofan is experiencing one of its worst droughts since 2004, the IPC said, citing rainfall levels.

Humanitarian organizations have repeatedly said that ending the conflict and ensuring safe, sustained humanitarian access are essential to improving conditions across Sudan. But repeated efforts to achieve peace have yet to bring the war to an end.

In the latest bout of violence, an airstrike killed at least 72 civilian miners in a border area between Sudan and Egypt where artisanal and small gold mining is widespread, local rights group Emergency Lawyers said Sunday.

The group, which tracks violence across Sudan, said without providing evidence that Egyptian warplanes targeted the miners in Sudan’s North Wadi area.

The Egyptian Armed Forces released a statement late Monday saying that they had launched the latest wave of a "large-scale campaign to confront illegal mining in the Eastern Desert” by dropping “warning leaflets” on citizens. They did not provide any further details or explanation.

In June, Egyptian security forces detained hundreds of people, including foreigners, on the border with Sudan, accusing them of illegal gold mining and smuggling.

Separately, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry also announced the death of two Egyptian truck drivers in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum after a gunman opened fire. The statement said the shooter has been apprehended by the authorities.