Khamis Abakar

Khamis Abdullah Abakar (Arabic: خميس عبد الله أبكر; died 14 June 2023) also known as Abdallah Abakar was a Sudanese politician, activist and former army commander who served as the Governor of West Darfur from 2021 to 2023.

Prior to being governor, Abakar headed a faction of the Sudanese Liberation Movement, which fought the Sudanese military and Janjaweed (later the Rapid Support Forces) during the War in Darfur. In 2020, Abakar's faction of the SLM signed the Juba Peace Agreement, and Abakar was appointed Governor of West Darfur a year later.

Little is known about Abakar's early life, including his birthplace, date of birth, and his childhood.

Abakar took part in the war in Darfur, rising to the position of vice-president of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), along with being the leader of Masalit soldiers in the group. In 2006, Khamis Abakar was cited by Human Rights Watch during his time as a commander in the Sudan Liberation Army for forcibly conscripting Masalit refugee teenagers from Chadian refugee camps. Sometime in 2006, a faction of the SLA led by Abakar split off from the SLA during peace talks in Asmara. This sect of the SLA allied with other rebel groups that same year to create the short-lived Allied Revolutionary Forces of Western Sudan.

In 2011, Abakar's faction of the SLA rejoined Abdulwahid al-Nur's faction of the SLA.

Following the Sudanese Revolution in 2020, almost all rebel groups signed the Juba Peace Agreement, including the Sudan Liberation Movement, which Abakar was still a part of. In an attempt to cement the peace, interim prime minister Abdalla Hamdok appointed several former militia leaders to governor positions in Darfur. On June 13, 2021, Abakar was appointed governor of West Darfur, replacing Mohamed Abdalla Aldoma. In July 2021, just a month into Abakar's term, Hemedti, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, encouraged Abakar to use former SLA soldiers to break up ethnic clashes in the West Darfur capital of Geneina that broke out in April that year. Abakar also attempted to alleviate tribal clashes in the remote Jebel Marra in November 2021. Throughout Abakar's governance, several more deadly tribal clashes broke out between 2022 and 2023.

Assassination

When the 2023 Sudan conflict broke out, Abakar sided with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The Rapid Support Forces launched attacks on Masalit civilians during their siege on the city of Geneina, including members of Abakar's family. Abakar narrowly escaped an assassination bid when unidentified armed individuals opened fire on his vehicle on April 28. Confidential informants with knowledge of the incident informed Al Jazeera that the alleged assailants were reportedly associated with the RSF.

On June 14, an RSF shelling of the El Jamarik neighborhood killed seventeen civilians, including relatives of the Dar Masalit sultan. One of the relatives killed was Dar Masalit emir Tariq Abdelrahman Bahlredin. 37 others were wounded in the attack. Khamis Abakar denounced the situation as a genocide on June 13, and stated the Sudanese Army was not leaving the army base to help civilians. In response, the RSF called the battle of El Geneina a "tribal conflict".

On June 14, Abakar was kidnapped, tortured and executed by alleged RSF militants, led by Abdel Rahman Jumma. The RSF blamed Sudanese forces for Abakar's killing, despite video evidence showing RSF soldiers assaulting Abakar. Masalit activists claimed Abakar was killed after he refused to refute his statements about genocide in El Geneina. The head of the JEM, Mansour Arbab, accused Jumma of the killing of Abakar, along with the Joint Darfur Force. Minni Minnawi, leader of the JDF, deplored the killing but did not accuse the RSF. Later, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights deplored the killing.