Sudan militia chief ‘enthusiastically’ committed war crimes: prosecutor

By AFP
December 12, 2024
The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019. — Reuters
The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019. — Reuters

THE HAGUE: A feared Sudanese militia chief “willingly and enthusiastically” participated in war crimes, the International Criminal Court´s chief prosecutor charged on Wednesday, laying out searing accusations of rape, murder, and torture.

Prosecutor Karim Khan was summing up in the case of Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known by the nom de guerre Ali Kushayb, facing 31 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Sudan´s brutal civil war.

A leader of Sudan´s infamous Janjaweed militia, and ally of deposed Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, Abd-Al-Rahman is suspected of brutal attacks on villages in the Wadi Salih area of Darfur in August 2003.

Abd-Al-Rahman, who appeared in court wearing a light suit and striped tie, has denied the charges. He sat impassively as prosecutors presented closing arguments.

He stands accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, rape, torture, pillaging, and cruel treatment.

“The accused in this case was a senior Janjaweed member, a leader, and was actively involved in the commission of offences, willingly and enthusiastically,” Khan told the court.

“The stark reality is the targets in this case were not rebels but civilians. They were targeted. They have suffered. They´ve lost their lives. They´ve been scarred physically and emotionally in a myriad of different ways,” added the prosecutor.

Fighting broke out in Darfur when non-Arab tribes, complaining of systematic discrimination, took up arms against Bashir´s Arab-dominated government.

Khartoum responded by unleashing the Janjaweed, a force drawn from among the region´s nomadic tribes.

The United Nations says 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced in the Darfur conflict.

Khan said that witnesses during the trial had shared testimony of the horrors committed by the Janjaweed. “They have detailed accounts of mass murder, torture, rape, targeting of civilians, burning and pillaging of entire villages,” he said.