The International Criminal Court (ICC) has found Sudanese militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, guilty of 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Darfur conflict from August 2003 to April 2004.
Kushayb was a senior commander of the Janjaweed, a government-backed armed group notorious for its brutal campaign against rebel factions in Darfur.
The conflict began in 2003 when ethnic African groups rose up against Sudan’s Arab-dominated government based in Khartoum.
In response, the government launched a scorched-earth campaign that included aerial bombings and Janjaweed-led attacks on civilian communities.
According to the ICC, Kushayb not only ordered these assaults but also personally participated in killings, rapes, and acts of torture.
One witness testified that Kushayb instructed his men to “repeat the attack” to ensure no survivors remained.
The charges against him include murder, rape, torture, persecution, and the forcible transfer of population.
This ruling marks one of the ICC’s first convictions related to the Darfur conflict and its first-ever judgment for gender-based persecution.
The court rejected Kushayb’s defense of mistaken identity and confirmed his role as the actual perpetrator.
The verdict comes amid renewed violence in Sudan, particularly in Darfur, where clashes between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—a group that evolved from the Janjaweed—continue to escalate.