Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The International Criminal Court convicted Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman for committing human rights atrocities as the infamous leader of the Sudanese militia known as the Janjaweed.
Prosecutors hailed the conviction of Abd-Al-Rahman, also known by his nom de guerre Ali Kushayb, as the first verdict against a militia leader for waging a brutal campaign of ethnically motivated violence two decades ago against the civilian population in Sudan's Darfur region.
The conflict in Darfur is considered the first genocide of the 21st century and unfolded between 2003 and 2020, when ethnic-based rebel groups took up arms against Sudan's autocratic government. In response, the Sudanese government unleashed its own militias including the Janjaweed, whose name means "devils on horseback."
The United Nations estimates that roughly 300,000 people died and another 400,000 were forced to flee to neighboring Chad.
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