SUDAN · CHAD
Chad has freed Yousif Ibrahim Ezzat, the former political adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), after about 13 months in custody, his family says. The family’s announcement was reported on Saturday 14 November 2026, and it says the release took place on Thursday 12 November.
The RSF is the paramilitary force that has fought Sudan’s army since 15 April 2023. The family says Ezzat was never charged, and none of the reports available to us carries a statement from Chad’s government.
Key Facts
- Who Yousif Ibrahim Ezzat, adviser until July 2024 to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
- What His family says Chad freed him without charge on Thursday 12 November 2026.
- Where Held in a prison in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital, the family says, after arrest at Adre.
- When Arrested on Saturday 11 October 2025; held for about 13 months.
- Prediction markets Polymarket, a prediction market, prices a Sudan ceasefire by 31 December 2026 at about 11% (14 November, 2:19 p.m. ET).
Ezzat, who left the RSF’s inner circle in 2024, is free again, but no official explanation of his arrest or release has appeared.
What We Know About the Release
Ezzat’s family says a decision by Chad’s public prosecution office ordered his release and that no charge was brought against him. The family says he was held in N’Djamena for about 13 months.
The family says Chadian forces arrested him on Saturday 11 October 2025 at the Adre crossing, where eastern Chad meets West Darfur, a state in Sudan’s far west. It names the arresting officer as General Saleh Abdullah Jar, a Chadian general known as Salehi, and says Ezzat was held without contact with relatives.
No official reason for the detention has been published. The reports available to us carry no comment from Chad’s government on the arrest or the release.
Who Is Yousif Ezzat
In plain English
RSF: the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese paramilitary force led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. It has fought Sudan’s regular army since April 2023.
Adre: a border town where eastern Chad meets Sudan’s West Darfur state. West Darfur lies in Sudan’s far west, next to Chad.
Ezzat served as political adviser to Hemedti until the RSF announced his dismissal on Wednesday 10 July 2024. The announcement gave no reasons.
Ezzat said afterwards that he had asked to be relieved, citing differences with Abdelrahim Dagalo, Hemedti’s brother and deputy commander of the RSF. He has not been part of the RSF leadership since that dismissal.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket is a prediction market where traders stake real money. It priced a Sudan civil war ceasefire by 31 December 2026 at about 11% on 14 November (2:19 p.m. ET).
The event has traded US$119,643 across all its dates. A price is a bet, not a forecast.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Is Not Known
Chad has not said why it arrested Ezzat or why it let him go. According to his family, no charge was ever brought.
In a video, Ezzat said his release followed international and tribal efforts, without giving details. Reports say others were arrested with him, and whether they are free is not clear.
Why It Matters Beyond Sudan
Chad shares a border with Sudan’s Darfur region in the west, and the Adre crossing where Ezzat was seized links the two. Our earlier report on Sudan’s complaints to the UN about RSF supply routes gives more background on the border.
For US readers the Sudan war is a policy matter: on 7 January 2025 the US State Department said RSF members and allied militias had committed genocide, and it barred Hemedti and his immediate family from entering the United States. What Chad does with RSF-linked figures, and the fate of cities such as Nyala, the RSF-held capital of South Darfur, therefore stays in view.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Yousif Ezzat?
He was political adviser to Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, the RSF commander. The RSF announced his dismissal on 10 July 2024.
When was Yousif Ezzat released?
His family says Chad released him on Thursday 12 November 2026. He had spent about 13 months in custody.
Was Yousif Ezzat charged?
His family says no charge was brought. The reports available to us carry no explanation from Chad’s government.
What is the RSF?
The Rapid Support Forces is a Sudanese paramilitary force led by Hemedti. It has fought Sudan’s army since 15 April 2023.
Sources: statement by Ezzat’s family on his release (14 November 2026); Rapid Support Forces announcement of Ezzat’s dismissal (10 July 2024); US State Department, Genocide Determination in Sudan and Imposing Accountability Measures (7 January 2025); Polymarket, Sudan civil war ceasefire by 31 December 2026 market, read 14 November 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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