The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday convicted Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, a former Janjaweed militia leader known as Ali Kushayb, of 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region more than two decades ago.
The conviction marks the ICC’s first ruling related to atrocities in Darfur since the case was referred to the court by the United Nations Security Council in 2005, and represents a historic step toward accountability for victims of one of the 21st century’s worst humanitarian crises.
Presiding Judge Joanna Korner said the court unanimously found Abd-Al-Rahman guilty of murder, rape, persecution, torture, and other crimes committed between 2003 and 2004, rejecting his claim of mistaken identity.
“He encouraged and gave instructions that resulted in the killings, the rapes and destruction committed by the Janjaweed,” Korner said, adding that he ordered his fighters to “wipe out and sweep away” non-Arab tribes and to “bring no one alive.”
Abd-Al-Rahman’s sentence will be determined after additional hearings. The 64-year-old surrendered to the court in 2020 after years on the run.
Darfur’s conflict erupted in 2003 when non-Arab rebel groups rose against Khartoum’s government, accusing it of neglecting the region. The government, led at the time by Omar al-Bashir, responded by mobilizing Arab militias known as the Janjaweed.
The ensuing campaign left an estimated 300,000 dead and millions displaced, with the United States and human rights groups describing the violence as genocide.
For survivors, Monday’s verdict brought long-awaited justice. “As victims, the ruling is a victory for us and for justice,” said Jamal Abdallah, 32, who was displaced from West Darfur as a child. “We were made refugees for 22 years. This restores hope.”
U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk hailed the conviction as “an important acknowledgment of the enormous suffering endured by the victims” and a long-overdue measure of redress.
However, the ICC continues to seek justice against other senior Sudanese officials.
Former President Omar al-Bashir and ex-defense minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein remain in military custody in northern Sudan, while former interior minister Ahmed Haroun, another ICC fugitive, was last seen earlier this year in the country’s north.
As displaced Darfur residents watched the verdict on a Starlink terminal in South Darfur’s Kalma camp, many expressed hope for reparations and further prosecutions. “We have been waiting for more than 20 years for this day,” said one elderly man.
The ruling comes as Sudan once again faces devastating conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group widely seen as descended from the Janjaweed militias.
“The same people who were there in the 2000s are in the RSF now,” said Abdallah. “The reason they repeat their crimes is the lack of accountability.”
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
