ICC Verdict on Sudan’s ‘Janjaweed’ Commander in Darfur War Crimes Case

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday delivers its verdict on Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman — better known as Ali Kushayb — a feared Sudanese militia commander accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the brutal Darfur conflict.

Abd-Al-Rahman faces 31 counts, including murder, rape, and torture, allegedly committed between August 2003 and April 2004 in western Sudan. Prosecutors describe him as a senior leader of the Janjaweed, a militia unleashed by Khartoum that “enthusiastically” carried out attacks on villages.

The 75-year-old defendant has denied all charges, insisting he is not the man prosecutors say he is.

“I am not Ali Kushayb. I do not know this person… I have nothing to do with these accusations,” he told the court in December 2024.

Abd-Al-Rahman fled to the Central African Republic in 2020 after Sudan’s transitional government agreed to cooperate with the ICC. He later surrendered voluntarily, saying he feared being killed by Sudanese authorities.

“I was hiding and moving constantly. I was warned they wanted to arrest me. If I hadn’t surrendered, I’d be dead,” he said.

The Darfur conflict erupted in 2003 when non-Arab communities rebelled against what they called systematic discrimination by the Arab-dominated government. The regime of Omar Al-Bashir responded by deploying the Janjaweed — armed tribal militias accused of mass killings and atrocities.

According to the United Nations, around 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced during the violence.

During the trial, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said Abd-Al-Rahman’s forces “rampaged across Darfur,” inflicting “severe pain and suffering” on civilians. Khan has since stepped down amid unrelated allegations of sexual misconduct.

Abd-Al-Rahman is believed to have been a close ally of Bashir, who remains wanted by the ICC on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Though ousted in 2019, Bashir has not been extradited to The Hague.

The ICC is also investigating atrocities in Sudan’s ongoing war between the national army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — a paramilitary group that evolved from the Janjaweed. The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and left the country teetering on the edge of famine.

In South Darfur’s Kalma camp, residents have pooled resources to rent a Starlink satellite connection to watch the ICC verdict live. The camp, under RSF control, is battling a cholera outbreak and severe hunger, emblematic of the deepening crisis in Sudan.