ICC Jails Darfur Militia Leader Ali Kushayb for 20 Years

The International Criminal Court on December 9 sentenced former Darfur Janjaweed commander Ali Kushayb, also known as Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, to 20 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the 2003–2004 conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region.

The case marks the ICC’s first completed trial linked to the Darfur crisis, two decades after the United Nations referred the situation to the court.

Kushayb was convicted in October on 27 charges, including murder, persecution, torture, rape, and attacks on civilian populations. Judges concluded that he held direct command responsibility and also participated personally in several acts of violence, rejecting the defence claim that he was a marginal figure with limited authority. The court found he played a central role in coordinated assaults on non-Arab villages, which resulted in mass killings and forced displacement.

• ICC sentences Darfur Janjaweed commander Ali Kushayb to 20 years for war crimes.
• Historic ICC verdict delivers first Darfur trial conviction after two decades of delays.
• Ali Kushayb found guilty on 27 charges including murder, torture and crimes against humanity

Presiding judge Joanna Korner detailed several incidents in which Kushayb beat prisoners to death with an axe, including in the Mukjar and Deleig areas. Prosecutors had urged the court to impose a life sentence, calling him responsible for systematic brutality carried out during government-backed militia campaigns. At 76, the 20-year prison term is expected to keep him incarcerated for the remainder of his life.

The verdict delivers long-delayed accountability for survivors of the Darfur conflict, which erupted when rebel groups accused Sudan’s government of discrimination. The state’s response, including the mobilisation of Janjaweed militias, led to widespread village burnings, killings and extensive displacement across the region.

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The judgment comes as Sudan remains engulfed in renewed violence following the 2023 eruption of fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, regarded as successors to the Janjaweed. The conflict has triggered fresh displacement and reports of atrocities, particularly around al-Fashir, underscoring the ongoing instability even as the ICC concludes one of its longest-running cases.