The face in the photo has become well known in Sudan. The fighter, who has medium-length hair that frames his bearded face, has appeared in numerous videos. Sometimes he smiles even as he kills unarmed people.
This is Abu Lulu. But a photo of him released last Thursday by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group he purports to head, showed him handcuffed after his arrest.
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The arrests are part of the RSF’s efforts to distance itself from the atrocities committed in El Fasher, a city in Darfur that RSF forces captured on October 26 after an 18-month siege. At least 1,500 civilians have been killed since the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) fled the town and the RSF went on rampage, according to the Sudanese Doctors Network.
Abu Lulu, also known as Brigadier General Al Fateh Abdullah Idris, has come to symbolize Sudan’s brutal downfall since the war between the RSF and SAF began in April 2023.
Over the past year, Abu Lulu has been linked to a series of murders across Sudan. Witnesses said his alleged crime was not a random act of violence, but a deliberate performance designed to intimidate, stir up ethnic tensions and project a grotesque image of power.
In al-Jairi, north of Khartoum, footage was shown of him killing two prisoners. In the al-Salha district of Omdurman city, he is reported to have participated in the killing of 31 civilians. He is reported to have executed more than 16 prisoners in the al-Kuair district of Western Kordofan province, with witnesses claiming he was motivated by racial hatred.
And in El Fasher, he was filmed confronting an unarmed restaurant owner, asking him his tribe, and shooting him dead after he answered that he was from the non-Arab Berti tribe. The victims’ desperate pleas for mercy were ignored.
On October 27, 2025, further footage appeared to appear online showing Abu Lulu forces killing dozens of civilians in El Fasher. The massacre was filmed and shared on social media, causing widespread outrage, but the man behind it appeared to enjoy the attention.
The idea of a “psychopath”
Dr David Holmes, a criminal psychologist who reviewed the footage for Al Jazeera, described Abu Lulu as a “narcissistic psychopath” whose personality was clearly different from that of his accomplices. “He is willing to kill unarmed victims,” Holmes said.
Holmes pointed out that Abu Lulu’s method of killing often involved repeated, random shooting rather than the use of a single bullet. Mr Holmes said the video featuring Abu Lullu was “a ruthless use of force to seriously injure and kill without attempting to execute him with a single bullet to the head”, adding that the fighter appeared to “enjoy indiscriminate fire”.
Holmes added that Abu Lulu’s demeanor in front of the cameras suggests he considers himself some kind of celebrity. “He is content with his position and poses as if he considers himself some kind of celebrity to the public,” Holmes said.
In fact, Abu Lulu frequently broadcasts his actions online. In one live TikTok session, he boasted that he had killed “2,000 people” and admitted that he had “lost count.” The session sparked both applause and alarm among RSF users, with some hailing him as a “hero” and others urging him to stop filming.
denial and denial
Following the uproar, multiple sources within the RSF claimed that Abu Lulu was not officially part of the militia, but rather led a “coalition force” that had been allied with the militia since the beginning of the war.
“He does not belong to the RSF,” one RSF military official, who did not wish to be named, told Al Jazeera. “He leads a group that fights alongside us, but he will be held accountable for his actions. He does not represent the RSF.”
The RSF’s official spokesperson, al-Fateh al-Qurashi, later repeated similar statements, denying that Abu Lulu was part of their chain of command. RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, popularly known as Hemedi, acknowledged the crimes committed by his forces in recent weeks, announced the formation of a commission of inquiry and promised “accountability.”
However, skepticism persists even after Abu Lulu’s arrest. Rights groups and analysts say the RSF’s repeated pattern of distancing itself from field commanders involved in atrocities has become a familiar tactic, allowing it to preserve the force’s image while maintaining operational links with local militias.
Roots of a paramilitary empire
RSF’s origins trace back to the government-backed/affiliated militia known as the Janjaweed, Arab tribal fighters mobilized by the Sudanese government during the Darfur war in the early 2000s and accused of mass genocide, rape, and ethnic cleansing.
In 2013, then-President Omar al-Bashir formally reorganized the militia under the RSF banner and appointed Hemedi its commander. Although nominally part of the Sudanese military, the RSF has amassed vast economic resources from gold mining, extensive control, and mercenary contracts overseas, and has developed into an autonomous power bloc.
Sudan’s civil war erupted after the RSF refused to be integrated into the SAF within the SAF’s desired deadline. The conflict enabled the militias to use their deep field networks and experience in urban warfare to capture large parts of Khartoum, Darfur, and Kordofan states.
The same tactics used in Darfur – targeting civilians based on perceived ethnicity or loyalty – have resurfaced across the country, leaving thousands dead and millions displaced.
seek justice
It was in this environment that Abu Lulu gained notoriety.
But as footage of El Fasher’s massacre spread around the world, calls grew for the United Nations and the International Criminal Court to investigate Abu Lulu’s crimes as violations of international humanitarian law.
Human rights lawyers argue that his documented killing constitutes clear evidence of a war crime.
But for survivors and victims’ families, justice feels far away.
“He killed people in front of the cameras,” said Khaled, a survivor of the El Fasher massacre, who declined to give his full name. “He wanted fame.”
Abu Lulu’s public actions, coupled with widely available footage of the killings in El Fasher, further undermined the credibility of the RSF, which had been trying to present itself as a respectable force in recent months. In July, the group announced the formation of a parallel government with a presidential council chaired by Hemediti to administer areas under Sudan’s control.
But such efforts fall by the wayside when compared to the killing of El Fasher and the actions of militants like Abu Lulu.
Abu Lulu has also become a symbol of Sudan’s brutal disintegration, whether acting independently or in cooperation with the RSF.
As Sudan’s war continues, his image of him holding a rifle and smiling for the camera is an indelible reminder of the struggles facing the country.
