section_path: Abstract
section_name: Abstract
paragraph_text: The Rapid Support Forces (RSF; Arabic: قوات الدعم السريع, romanized: Quwwāt ad-daʿm as-sarīʿ) is a paramilitary force formerly operated by the government of Sudan. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which previously fought on behalf of the Sudanese government.
  
  RSF has been administered by the National Intelligence and Security Service, while during military operations it has been commanded by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). As of June 2019, the commander is General Hemedti (Muhamed Hamdan Dagalo). During the Sudanese political crisis of 2019, the military junta that took control of the country employed the RSF to violently crack down on pro-democracy demonstrators. Along with other security forces, RSF carried out the Khartoum massacre on 3 June 2019.
  
  On 15 April 2023, fighting broke out between the RSF and the SAF after the RSF mobilized its forces in cities across Sudan, including in Darfur. The SAF has designated the RSF a rebel group. RSF forces are now in control of territory across Sudan, mostly in the south and west.
  
  The Rapid Support Forces announced the formation of a parallel Government of Peace and Unity to administer the areas of Sudan under their control on 15 April 2025. Its actions in Darfur were deemed crimes against humanity by Human Rights Watch and declared as genocide by the United States.