The International Criminal Court convicted Sudanese militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, known as Ali Kushayb, on Monday of 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities committed during the Darfur conflict over two decades ago.

It marks the ICC's first verdict in a case referred by the United Nations Security Council in 2005 and offers a measure of justice to survivors of one of Africa's deadliest insurgencies.

Judges at the ICC found the 71-year-old Abd-Al-Rahman guilty of murder, rape, torture, and persecution as a Janjaweed commander under then-President Omar al-Bashir's regime, which unleashed scorched-earth tactics against non-Arab rebels starting in 2003.

The trial, which began in April 2022, featured testimony from 56 witnesses detailing coordinated village attacks, mass killings, and sexual violence used as a weapon, with Abd-Al-Rahman allegedly ordering repeats.

The ruling marks a milestone for the ICC, the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, in addressing Darfur's horrors that claimed 300,000 lives and displaced 2.7 million, fueling a humanitarian catastrophe still unfolding with fresh famine alerts.

Prosecutors hailed it as validation for victims' resilience, while Abd-Al-Rahman, who denied all 31 charges, awaits sentencing in upcoming hearings.

Al-Bashir, indicted for genocide, remains at large since his 2019 ouster.

Sudan's deputy ICC prosecutor recently warned of ongoing war crimes, with the court's focus shifting to current crises like the RSF-SAF clashes that have killed thousands this year.