ICC convicts Darfur militia leader over past atrocities in Sudan

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court on Monday convicted a leader of the feared Janjaweed militia of playing a leading role in a campaign of atrocities committed in the Sudanese region of Darfur more than 20 years ago.

It was the first time the court has convicted a suspect of crimes in Darfur. The court ruled that the atrocities, including mass murders and rapes, were part of a government plan to violently snuff out a rebellion in the western region of Sudan.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd–Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, wearing a suit and tie and listening through a headset, showed no emotion as Presiding Judge Joanna Korner read out 27 guilty verdicts. He will be sentenced at a later date. He faces a maximum life sentence.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — International Criminal Court judges are delivering their verdicts Monday in the trial of an alleged Arab militia leader in Sudan who prosecutors say was responsible for “beastly violence” in the deadly Darfur conflict more than two decades ago.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd–Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, pleaded innocent to all 31 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity when his trial opened in April 2022. He is accused of offenses including murder, torture, rape, persecution and attacking civilians.

The verdict comes as allegations of atrocities and famine continue to emerge from Sudan. In July, the ICC’s deputy prosecutor told the United Nations that war crimes and crimes against humanity are continuing to take place in Sudan’s vast western Darfur region where civil war has raged for more than two years.

Prosecutors say that Abd–Al-Rahman was a senior commander in the Janjaweed militias during the Darfur conflict that erupted when rebels from the territory’s ethnic central and sub-Saharan African community launched an insurgency in 2003, complaining of oppression by the Arab-dominated government in the capital, Khartoum.

Then-President Omar al-Bashir’s government responded with a scorched-earth campaign of aerial bombings and raids by the Janjaweed, who often attacked at dawn, sweeping into villages on horseback or camelback.

The campaign included mass killings and rapes, torture and persecution. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes in Darfur over the years. Al-Bashir has been charged by the ICC with crimes including genocide, but he has not been handed over to face justice in The Hague.

During the trial, judges heard from 56 witnesses who described horrific violence and the use of rape as a weapon to terrorize and humiliate women. One witness said that during one massacre, Abd-Al-Rahman allegedly told fighters: “Repeat, repeat for these people. Maybe there are some that you have missed.”

Defense lawyers called 17 witnesses and argued that Abd-Al-Rahman was not a militia leader, but rather “a no one” who had no involvement in the Darfur conflict.

If convicted, Abd-Al-Rahman will face a sentencing hearing at a later date. He could get a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

As the verdicts are announced in The Hague, conflict rages in Sudan between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Sudan’s military. Tensions erupted in 2023 between the two previous allies that were meant to oversee a democratic transition after a 2019 uprising. The fighting has killed at least 40,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, and displaced as many as 12 million others. More than 24 million people are facing acute food insecurity in Sudan, according to the World Food Program.

Two decades ago, the RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militias and Janjaweed groups still help the RSF.