ICC convicts Janjaweed Leader Ali Kushayb of War crimes in historic verdict

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has delivered a historic verdict, finding Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, commonly known as Ali Kushayb, guilty of twenty-seven counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The charges stem from his role in the Janjaweed militia during a campaign of violence carried out between August 2003 and April 2004 in Darfur, Sudan.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk welcomed the conviction, describing it as a long-awaited moment of justice. “The convictions of Ali Kushayb represent an important acknowledgment of the enormous suffering endured by the victims of his heinous crimes, as well as a first measure of long-overdue redress for them and their loved ones,” Türk said in a statement.

Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, also reacted to the verdict: “This long-overdue verdict goes some way toward providing justice for the victims of Ali Kushayb and should serve as a significant milestone in the pursuit of justice for crimes committed in Darfur more than two decades ago,”, adding “the conviction should also serve as a warning to those committing abuses in the context of the ongoing conflict in Sudan that they will one day be held individually accountable.”

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman was born around 15 October 1949 in Rahad Al-Berdi, South Darfur, Sudan. Before his rise as a senior Janjaweed commander, he reportedly served as a medical assistant and warrant officer in the Sudanese Armed Forces. Following his military service, he opened a pharmacy in the town of Garsila, located in the Wadi Salih area of West Darfur.

During the outbreak of the Darfur conflict, Abd-Al-Rahman emerged as a prominent figure within the Janjaweed, a paramilitary group operating with the authorization and support of the then Government of Sudan, led by Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who was ousted in 2019 following a popular uprising. Between August 2003 and April 2004, he held a senior leadership position within Janjaweed forces in West Darfur. His nickname, Ali Kushayb, became widely known among local populations and witnesses.

The ICC Prosecutor charged Ali Kushayb with thirty-one counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, torture, persecution, pillaging, destruction of property, attacks against civilians, forcible transfer of population, and other inhumane acts.

The crimes were alleged to have been committed during the Sudanese government’s counterinsurgency campaign in Darfur between 2003 and 2004, specifically in and around the towns of Kodoom and Bindisi, Mukjar, and Deleig.

According to the prosecution, Ali Kushayb acted in close coordination with Sudanese army officers, and intelligence operatives, leading Janjaweed militias in a series of coordinated operations.

The prosecution presented extensive evidence to establish the scale and brutality of the operations he directed or coordinated. Testimony from more than one hundred witnesses and over 1,800 documentary and physical exhibits substantiated the charges.

The evidence demonstrated that in August 2003, during operations in Kodoom and Bindisi, Ali Kushayb led large-scale attacks on civilian villages. His forces surrounded settlements, executed villagers, and set fire to homes. Witnesses testified that he personally ordered and participated in killings, rapes, and looting, and that he supervised the rounding up of men and the assault of women.

In February and March 2004, he played a central role in what prosecutors described as the “Mukjar Common Plan,” an organized campaign of torture and inhumane acts. He ordered the arbitrary arrest, torture, and execution of numerous detainees—many killed publicly to instill fear in the population. Survivors gave detailed accounts of the brutality inflicted under his command, including beatings, humiliation, and executions carried out in his presence.

Between March and April 2004, in Deleig, Ali Kushayb commanded operations that resulted in the execution of hundreds of detainees. He oversaw the digging of mass graves and ordered acts of torture and other inhumane treatment. The Chamber found these actions to be part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population, constituting both war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The judges concluded that he bore individual criminal responsibility both as a direct perpetrator and as a commander and organizer of crimes committed by others. The judgment established that he ordered, induced, and coordinated atrocities, acting as a key intermediary between Janjaweed forces and senior Sudanese government officials who provided logistical, military, and operational support.

Although the Prosecutor initially brought thirty-one charges, the Trial Chamber entered convictions on twenty-seven counts, determining that four charges were subsumed within other counts. This verdict marks the first conviction arising from the Darfur situation, which was referred to the ICC by the United Nations Security Council in 2005.

The conviction comes at a time when Sudan is once again engulfed in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Since the outbreak of war in April 2023, reports of mass atrocities have emerged. Leaders of the warring factions—including the Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, and the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan—have been accused of war crimes and placed under international sanctions. Over 150,000 people have been killed so far, while millions remain in displacement camps. In some parts of the country, entire cities, including Al-Fashir, remain under siege.