The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sentenced a Sudanese militia leader to 20 years in prison for atrocities committed during a civil war more than two decades ago.
Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman had been convicted in October on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region.
Known as Ali Kushayb, he was one of the leaders of the Janjaweed, a government-backed group that terrorised Darfur, killing hundreds of thousands of people.
Kushayb, aged 76, is the first person to be tried by the ICC for atrocities committed during the civil war. He had argued the charges were a case of mistaken identity.
Dressed in a light blue suit and tie, Kushayb stood quietly as presiding judge Joanna Korner delivered his sentence on Tuesday.
Abdal Raman not only gave the orders which led directly to the crimes but... also personally perpetrated some of them, Judge Korner told the court.
The conflict in question lasted from 2003 to 2020, resulting in one of the world’s gravest humanitarian disasters, with allegations of ethnic cleansing against non-Arab groups.
Five years after the end of that crisis, Darfur is embroiled in another civil war, now between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), whose origins lie in the Janjaweed.
During Kushayb's trial, survivors recounted horrifying events, including the burning of villages and forced sexual slavery.
Judge Korner emphasized that Kushayb had commanded forces to wipe out and sweep away non-Arab tribes, underscoring the systematic nature of the violence.
Despite Kushayb's conviction, many victims of the first Darfur crisis remain displaced. Outstanding arrest warrants remain against several Sudanese officials, including former President Omar al-Bashir, accused of genocide.
As the conflict in Sudan continues, experts express doubt that this trial will significantly influence current hostilities, highlighting the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region.
