Ex-Sudanese Militia Leader Pleads Not Guilty At ICC Tri

An alleged leader of a Sudanese militia has rejected all charges against him as the International Criminal Court opened trial on Tuesday.

The 72-year-old defendant, Ali Muhammad Ali Abd–Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, pleaded innocent to all 31 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. “

This is the first ICC trial to deal with atrocities by Sudanese government-backed forces in the Darfur province nearly two decades ago.

Prosecutors say al-Rahman was a senior commander in the janjaweed militias during the Darfur conflict that erupted when rebels from the territory’s ethnic central and sub-Saharan African community launched an insurgency in 2003, complaining of oppression by the Arab-dominated government in the capital, Khartoum.

Then-President Omar al-Bashir’s government responded with a scorched-earth campaign of aerial bombings and raids by the janjaweed, who often attacked at dawn, sweeping into villages on horseback or camelback.

The campaign included mass killings and rapes, torture and persecution. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes in Darfur over the years.

Prosecutor Karim Khan said that al-Rahman was “a willing and knowing participant in crimes” and “one of the key senior janjaweed militia leaders” who worked “hand-in-glove” with the Sudanese government in its counterinsurgency campaign.

Al-Rahman is suspected of crimes allegedly committed between August 2003 and at least April 2004 in Darfur including murder, torture, rape, persecution and attacking civilians.

The trial opens amid a recent rise in violence in Darfur, which has seen deadly clashes between rival tribes in recent months as the country remains mired in a wider crisis following last year’s coup, when top generals overthrew a civilian-led government.