(Bloomberg) -- The International Criminal Court began its first trial for war crimes during the Darfur conflict, as fresh violence and hunger wrack the western Sudanese region two decades after the fighting began.
Former militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman faced The Hague-based court Tuesday, charged with 31 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including rape, murder and torture allegedly committed in 2003-04 when he's accused of supporting then-dictator Omar al-Bashir's government. He pleaded not guilty.
Conflict erupted in Darfur in 2003 when rebels took up arms accusing Bashir of neglecting the region, sparking a brutal counterinsurgency campaign. The United Nations estimates about 300,000 people may have died in the years of violence that many hoped would come to an end with the 2019 overthrow of Bashir, who was also indicted by the ICC.
Unrest has surged again in the past year in the region that's roughly the size of France, as communities clash over resources and the government in Khartoum fails to stem it. High inflation and poor harvests caused by a prolonged drought have added to the crisis, with more than 5 million people in need of food aid, according to the UN.
The transitional government that replaced Bashir pledged he would face the ICC on its charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. That's been cast into doubt by a coup in October, when military officials who were once loyal to him assumed near-complete control of the North African country. The 78-year-old was jailed for corruption after his ouster and is on trial locally for the 1989 putsch that brought him to power.
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