ICC makes a first conviction of Darfur: NPR

LAGOS, Nigeria – The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague condemned Ali Muhammad Ali Abd – Al -Rahman, head of the notorious militia of Janjaweed in Sudan, for his role in the atrocities committed during the genocide of the Western region of Darfur more than 20 years ago. This is the first condemnation of the Court for crimes in Darfur, where similar violence again broke out in the middle of the current civil war in Sudan.

The judges found that mass killings and sexual violence were part of a plan supported by the former government of Sudan to crush a rebellion by African ethnic groups in the West region. ABD – Al -Rahman, also known by the war name Ali Kushayb, was found guilty for 27 counts, made between August 2003 and April 2004. He remained silent because the verdict was read by the judge president, Joanna Korner.

“The accused did not only give orders … but was personally involved in the blows and was later physically present and gave orders for the execution of the detained persons,” said Korner.

ABD – Al -Rahman, who said he was wrongly identified, will be sentenced to a later date and faces a maximum sentence in life prison. Born in 1949, Abd – Al -Rahman fled to the Central African Republic in February 2020 after the new Government of Sudan announced that he would cooperate with the ICC investigation. Later, he went, saying he was “desperate” and feared that he was killed by the authorities.

The conflict in Darfur lasted from 2003 to 2020 and is largely considered on the 21st^st First genocide of the century. Meanwhile, the United Nations estimates that the conflict killed 300,000 people and forced 2.5 million of their homes.

Reading the verdict, Korner told the horrible crimes committed by Abd – Al -Rahman, including gang rapes, abuses and massacres. Although the ICC has succeeded in continuing Abd-Al-Rahman, several arrest mandates remain exceptional against Sudanese officials, including a former Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir de Génocide, which he denies. Bashir, who was ousted during a 2019 coup, would be in police custody in northern Sudan.

During the trial, Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the ICC, said that Abd-Al-Rahman and the Janjaweed militia “were unleashed” by Darfur and “inflicted serious pain and suffer from women, children and men in the villages he left in his wake”.

Janjaweed then evolved towards the rapid support forces (RSF), which have been fighting the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) since 2023. The RSF has been accused by the United States, the UN and others of committing another genocide in Darfur, by moving thousands, triggering famine and leading the region to a new human catastrophe.