Back in January, Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo sat at the head of a large dining table, flanked by two advisers. As the deputy commander of the Rapid Support Forces, a powerful Sudanese paramilitary group, he had welcomed me to a feast at his home in Khartoum, the nation’s capital. His servants heaped the table with grilled fish, a mountain of fresh bread, chunks of lamb in gravy, potatoes with minced meat and a fruit salad that he insisted I try.

After dinner, Abdel Rahim changed out of his traditional white robe and into a blue blazer and light blue button-down shirt. He then sat on the couch in a living room furnished with green plastic plants and crystal lights. There, he began to speak about the RSF’s charity work during the coronavirus pandemic. A cameraman recorded as we talked.

The RSF, he told me, “understands the struggle and shortcomings of health and education services and the economy. That’s why we provide these services, especially medical help because of the Covid-19 crisis — to bridge the gap between what people need and what’s available to them.”

The RSF is attempting to transform its image from that of a violent militia responsible for numerous atrocities to a well-funded national force, headed by benevolent statesmen. Providing an effective response to Covid-19 is an important part of its broader PR campaign. However, rebranding the organization and its members as philanthropic peacemakers is no easy task.