Key facts
- The International Criminal Court (ICC) has terminated proceedings against Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain.
- Prosecutors withdrew charges against Banda, who led a Darfur armed group, citing deteriorated evidence.
- The charges stemmed from a 2007 attack on African Union peacekeepers.
- The ICC's decision does not preclude future charges.
- The conflict in Darfur began in 2003, with a new war erupting in 2023.
Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have terminated proceedings against Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain, a former leader of an armed group in Darfur. The decision came after prosecutors withdrew charges related to a 2007 attack on African Union peacekeepers, citing that the evidence against Banda had deteriorated since the charges were confirmed in 2011. The prosecution stated there were no longer substantial grounds to believe Banda was responsible for the charged crimes. The judges noted that this termination does not prevent prosecutors from bringing similar charges against Banda in the future.
Banda had previously led the Justice and Equality Movement, one of the main armed groups involved in the Darfur conflict that began in 2003. The conflict escalated with the Sudanese government mobilizing Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed, to suppress the rebellion, leading to widespread violence described by some as genocide. The United Nations Security Council referred the Darfur situation to the ICC in 2005.
A new war erupted in Darfur and across Sudan in 2023, pitting the army against the Rapid Support Forces, widely considered successors to the Janjaweed. To date, the ICC has conducted only one trial for Darfur atrocities, resulting in a 20-year prison sentence for a Janjaweed militia leader convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Three outstanding ICC arrest warrants remain for suspects in the 2003-2005 Darfur conflict, including former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who faces accusations of genocide.