section_path: Foreign relations/Relationship with the Wagner Group
section_name: Relationship with the Wagner Group
paragraph_text: Relationship with the Wagner Group
  
  According to a report by Al Araby TV, there are allegations of a connection between the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization, and Hemedti. Leaked documents and sources reportedly indicate that the Wagner Group has provided training and equipment, including armored vehicles and helicopter gunships, to Hemedti's forces. The Russian company is alleged to have provided security services during Hemedti's visit to Russia in 2018.
  
  Hemedti's association with the Wagner Group may raise questions about his own involvement in human rights violations, particularly given his role in the crackdown on protesters during Sudan's 2019 revolution and as the founder of the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group accused of committing human rights abuses in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan. The Sudanese government has denied any connection to the Wagner Group, and the reports suggest that Hemedti may be using his position in the Sovereign Council to establish ties with the Russian company. Both Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and Sudan's military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had ties to the Putin regime in Russia. According to Business Insider, The two generals helped Russian President Vladimir Putin exploit Sudan's gold resources to help buttress Russian finances against Western sanctions and fund his war in Ukraine.