Courtesy

A senior figure in Sudan’s notorious Janjaweed militia has been convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity, stemming from atrocities committed during the early 2000s conflict in Darfur.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, was found guilty by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

He is the first person to face trial at the ICC over the Darfur crisis.

Kushayb was a central figure in the Janjaweed, a militia group armed and supported by Sudan’s former government.

The group was responsible for widespread violence in Darfur, where hundreds of thousands of people were killed and millions displaced between 2003 and 2020. He denied all charges, claiming mistaken identity.

The ICC ruled that Kushayb was directly involved in 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, torture, and persecution, primarily between 2003 and 2004.

Testimonies from survivors during the trial described horrifying scenes: villages torched, civilians executed, and women subjected to sexual slavery.

The court found that Kushayb not only led attacks but also issued orders and distributed weapons.

A small group of Darfuri observers gathered at the ICC for the verdict. One man said, “He was in charge. He gave the orders. He armed the fighters. He played a leading role in what happened to us.”

The Darfur conflict began when rebels from non-Arab ethnic groups rose up against the Khartoum government.

In response, the government mobilized Arab militias like the Janjaweed, who targeted entire communities accused of supporting the rebels — resulting in accusations of genocide.

Although the Darfur war officially ended in 2020, violence continues in the region.

A new civil war broke out in 2023 between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which evolved from the Janjaweed.

The RSF has been accused by the UK, the US, and human rights organizations of continuing a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Darfur, echoing the earlier brutality.

Dr. Matthew Benson-Strohmayer, a Sudan expert from the London School of Economics, said the ICC’s ruling may have limited influence on today’s conflict.

“Darfur is now experiencing a war of terror,” he explained. “Sexual violence, starvation, and militia terror are still being used as weapons.”

Kushayb’s sentence will be determined at a later date.