KHARTOUM, Sudan

The trial of the former leader of the Sudanese Janjaweed militia over atrocities in the western Darfur region opened at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Tuesday.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, commonly known as Ali Kushayb, faces 31 charges, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, rape, intentional killing, and torture in Darfur in the period between 2003 and 2004.

He is also accused of murder, child abduction, humiliation, and racism against civilians in the troubled region. Kushayb denies the accusations.

“I deny all these unfounded accusations and I’m innocent,” he told the court.

Kushayb was transferred to the ICC in June 2020, after surrendering himself in the Central African Republic.

The ICC also indicted a number of former Sudanese officials with genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity over the situation in Darfur, including former President Omar al-Bashir, former Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Mohamed Hussein, and the former head of the Bashir-era ruling party, Ahmed Haroun.

Darfur was the scene of a ferocious war between the Sudanese government and three rebel movements since 2003. The conflict has left 300,000 people dead and around 2.5 million others displaced, according to UN figures.