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| Ali Kushayb: Sudan militia leader convicted of war crimes in Darfur | Ali Kushayb: Sudan militia leader convicted of war crimes in Darfur |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| A Sudanese militia leader has been found guilty of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region more than 20 years ago. | |
| Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, was one of the leaders of the Janjaweed, a government-backed group that terrorised Darfur, killing hundreds of thousands of people. | |
| Kushayb is the first person to be tried by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the atrocities in Darfur. He had argued it was a case of mistaken identity. | Kushayb is the first person to be tried by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the atrocities in Darfur. He had argued it was a case of mistaken identity. |
| The conflict lasted from 2003 to 2020 and was one of the world's gravest humanitarian disasters, with allegations of ethnic cleansing and genocide against the region's non-Arabic population. | |
| Five years after the end of that crisis, Darfur is a key battleground in another civil war, this time between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), whose origins lie in the Janjaweed. | |
| BBC hears of horror and hunger in rare visit to Darfur massacre town | BBC hears of horror and hunger in rare visit to Darfur massacre town |
| Return of the feared Janjaweed | Return of the feared Janjaweed |
| Sudan war: A simple guide to what is happening | Sudan war: A simple guide to what is happening |
| During Kushayb's trial, survivors described how their villages were burned down, men and boys slaughtered and women forced into sex slavery. | During Kushayb's trial, survivors described how their villages were burned down, men and boys slaughtered and women forced into sex slavery. |
| The militia leader was found guilty on 27 counts, centring on attacks committed between 2003 and 2004. | The militia leader was found guilty on 27 counts, centring on attacks committed between 2003 and 2004. |
| Judges at the ICC found the Janjaweed's brutal tactics - including mass executions, sexual violence and torture - were often inflicted by Kushayb and his men. | Judges at the ICC found the Janjaweed's brutal tactics - including mass executions, sexual violence and torture - were often inflicted by Kushayb and his men. |
| Ahead of the verdict, a small group of Darfuris waited patiently to enter the court, in the Dutch city of The Hague. | Ahead of the verdict, a small group of Darfuris waited patiently to enter the court, in the Dutch city of The Hague. |
| They were in no doubt about the pivotal role Kushayb played in their suffering, with one man saying: "He was the one who gave the orders. He was the one who got the weapons. | They were in no doubt about the pivotal role Kushayb played in their suffering, with one man saying: "He was the one who gave the orders. He was the one who got the weapons. |
| "So if you ask me if he was important in Darfur, I will you tell you he was one of the most important ones." | "So if you ask me if he was important in Darfur, I will you tell you he was one of the most important ones." |
| The Darfur war began after the Arab-dominated government at the time armed the Janjaweed, in an attempt to suppress an uprising by rebels from black African ethnic groups. | The Darfur war began after the Arab-dominated government at the time armed the Janjaweed, in an attempt to suppress an uprising by rebels from black African ethnic groups. |
| The Janjaweed systematically attacked non-Arab villagers accused of supporting the rebels, leading to accusations of genocide. | The Janjaweed systematically attacked non-Arab villagers accused of supporting the rebels, leading to accusations of genocide. |
| That same systematic violence is still happening in Darfur as part of Sudan's current civil war. | |
| Many of the Janjaweed fighters have morphed into the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group that is battling Sudan's army. | |
| The UK, US and rights groups have accused the RSF of carrying out ethnic cleansing against non-Arab communities in Darfur since the conflict began in 2023. | The UK, US and rights groups have accused the RSF of carrying out ethnic cleansing against non-Arab communities in Darfur since the conflict began in 2023. |
| Throughout the two conflicts, there has been a "long hiring out of militias, suppressing of rebellion, and sexual violence used as a tool of war", Dr Matthew Benson-Strohmayer, Sudan Research Director at the London School of Economics, told the BBC. | |
| Mr Benson-Strohmayer hopes the ICC verdict will impact the current conflict, but "sincerely" doubts it will. | |
| "I think the way that the war is being fought in Darfur in particular is really a war of terror," he told the BBC. | |
| "It's a very masculine war - sexual violence against women, or of starvation literally being used in order to barricade populations in and starve them to death." | |
| Kushayb will be sentenced at a later date. | Kushayb will be sentenced at a later date. |
| More BBC stories about Sudan: | More BBC stories about Sudan: |
| Darfur city under siege: 'My son's whole body is full of shrapnel' | |
| The mother and children trapped between two conflicts | The mother and children trapped between two conflicts |
| Barrier being built around besieged Sudan city, satellite images show | Barrier being built around besieged Sudan city, satellite images show |
| 'Our children are dying': Rare footage shows plight of civilians in besieged Sudan city | 'Our children are dying': Rare footage shows plight of civilians in besieged Sudan city |
| Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. | Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. |
| Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica | Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica |