The International Criminal Court has sentenced Sudanese militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, widely known as Ali Kushayb, to 20 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Darfur conflict more than two decades ago.
Kushayb, 76, was convicted in October on 27 charges related to a series of brutal attacks carried out in 2003 and 2004. He is the first individual tried by the ICC for crimes connected to the Darfur war.
As a senior commander of the Janjaweed a government-backed militia accused of burning villages, killing civilians and perpetrating widespread sexual violence Kushayb played a central role in a campaign that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.
Standing in court on Tuesday in a light blue suit, Kushayb listened silently as Judge Joanna Korner delivered the verdict. The court found that he not only directed fighters but also personally joined attacks. Judge Korner said he ordered his men to “wipe out” non-Arab communities and told them to “leave no one alive.” Survivors recalled villages being razed, men and boys executed, and women subjected to sexual slavery.
The Darfur conflict, which lasted from 2003 to 2020, became one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. The Arab-led government armed the Janjaweed to put down a rebellion by non-Arab groups, sparking accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide. Today, Darfur is again a major battleground in Sudan’s ongoing civil war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group that evolved from the Janjaweed. Rights groups and Western governments accuse the RSF of repeating past atrocities, including ethnic cleansing allegations it denies.
Judge Korner said the sentence was intended as both punishment and deterrence, especially given Sudan’s renewed violence. But some experts remain skeptical about its real-world impact. Dr. Matthew Benson-Strohmayer of the London School of Economics noted that both conflicts have relied on militias targeting civilians and the systematic use of sexual violence. While he hopes the ruling will make a difference, he said he “sincerely” doubts it will.
Many survivors of the first Darfur war remain displaced, and several ICC arrest warrants are still outstanding including one for former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who faces genocide charges, which he denies. Bashir is believed to remain in military custody following his 2019 ousting.
