The International Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced a senior Janjaweed militia commander to 20 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Sudan’s Darfur conflict, marking the court’s first conviction linked to atrocities in the region.
Ali Muhammad Ali Abd Al Rahman, widely known as Ali Kushayb, was punished after judges found him guilty on dozens of counts tied to attacks on civilians in western Sudan in 2003 and 2004. The ruling comes as Darfur again faces mass violence amid Sudan’s ongoing civil war.
The conviction is a major moment for international justice efforts related to Darfur, where few perpetrators have faced trial despite years of documented abuses. Judges unanimously found Abd Al Rahman guilty in October on 31 charges, including murder, torture, rape, persecution, forced displacement, and the destruction and looting of civilian property.
According to the court, Abd Al Rahman played a central role in coordinating and carrying out attacks that targeted non Arab communities, backing up broader campaigns led by the Janjaweed militia.
Passing sentence, Judge Joanna Korner said the former militia leader had personally taken part in brutal violence and had ordered killings. Quoting victim testimony, she said his actions amounted to a “campaign of extermination, humiliation and displacement.”
Prosecutors had sought a life sentence, arguing that the scale and cruelty of the crimes warranted the harshest possible punishment. At a pre sentencing hearing, ICC prosecutor Julian Nicholls said Abd Al Rahman personally killed two people with an axe. “You literally have an axe murderer before you. This is the stuff of nightmares,” Nicholls told the court.
Defense lawyers asked judges to impose a seven year term, rejecting claims that their client held a senior command role in the militia. Throughout the proceedings, Abd Al Rahman denied being a Janjaweed leader and insisted the court had misidentified him, a claim judges dismissed after reviewing evidence and witness accounts.
The ICC said time already spent in custody, from his surrender in June 2020 until Tuesday’s ruling, would be deducted from the sentence.
The crimes date back to the early 2000s, when rebel groups in Darfur took up arms against Sudan’s central government, accusing it of neglect and discrimination. Khartoum responded by mobilizing the Janjaweed, a largely Arab militia accused by the United Nations of widespread killings, sexual violence, and forced displacement.
The UN estimates that about 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced during the conflict.
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Abd Al Rahman fled to the Central African Republic in early 2020 after Sudan’s transitional authorities signaled they would cooperate with the ICC. He later turned himself in, saying he was “desperate” and feared being killed if he stayed in the region.
Darfur has again plunged into crisis since fighting erupted in April 2023 between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces, a group that traces its roots to the Janjaweed. Rights groups and the UN say both sides, particularly the RSF, have committed grave abuses, forcing millions from their homes and pushing parts of the region toward famine.
The RSF seized full control of Darfur in November and has since sought to expand its reach deeper into Sudan, keeping fears of further atrocities high.