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By Emmanuel Garjiek
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sentenced Sudanese militia commander 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 20 years ago.
Kushayb, 76, was convicted in October on 27 counts linked to widespread attacks on non-Arab communities between 2003 and 2004. He was a senior leader within the Janjaweed, the government-backed militia accused of killing hundreds of thousands of people in a campaign that UN investigators later described as ethnic cleansing.
Appearing in court in The Hague dressed in a light blue suit, Kushayb remained silent as presiding judge Joanna Korner delivered the sentence on Tuesday. The judge said the convicted commander not only issued orders that led directly to mass atrocities, but also personally participated in some of the attacks.
The Darfur conflict, which raged from 2003 until 2020, remains one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. Survivors who testified during the trial recounted harrowing scenes of villages burned, men and boys executed, and women subjected to sexual slavery. Judge Korner noted that Kushayb instructed fighters to “wipe out and sweep away” non-Arab tribes, reportedly telling his forces to “bring no one alive.”
Although the war formally ended five years ago, Darfur is once again a centre of violence as Sudan’s army battles the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group that evolved from the Janjaweed. The UK, US and human rights organisations have accused the RSF of fresh ethnic cleansing, allegations the group denies.
Experts warn that despite the landmark conviction, its impact on the current conflict may be limited. Dr Matthew Benson-Strohmayer of the London School of Economics said the ongoing violence in Darfur resembles “a war of terror,” driven by long-standing patterns of militia mobilisation and systematic abuse.
While the ICC has succeeded in prosecuting Kushayb, several high-profile suspects remain at large, including former President Omar al-Bashir, who faces genocide charges. Bashir, ousted in 2019, is reported to be in military custody in northern Sudan.
The court said Kushayb’s sentence aims to deliver both justice for victims and deterrence amid the ongoing instability in Sudan.
