Sudan: ICC Withdraws Charges Against Abdallah Banda in Darfur War Crimes Case

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a Darfur Network for Human Rights report, said the International Criminal Court held a status conference on 21 July 2026 in the case against Abdallah Banda Abakar Norain, where prosecutors publicly notified the court that they are withdrawing the charges. The Office of the Prosecutor said a long reassessment found the evidence no longer offered a reasonable chance of conviction. Banda, who did not appear for trial in 2014 and had been treated as a fugitive, joined the hearing by video link from Khartoum.

The case stemmed from the 2007 attack on the African Union Mission in Sudan base at Haskanita, Darfur, in which peacekeepers were killed. Charges were confirmed in 2011. According to the report, prosecutors said key witness evidence had weakened: two central witnesses were dropped over credibility and cooperation problems, while another account undermined part of the prosecution theory about Banda’s alleged knowledge of the attack’s unlawful nature.

The article said prosecutors conducted internal and external reviews in 2023, both concluding that conviction was unlikely, and that later witness interviews in 2025 did not repair the evidentiary gaps. The ICC chamber had rejected earlier withdrawal requests in 2023 and 2024, including because Banda remained a fugitive, but authorized the withdrawal in June 2026. The decision was made without prejudice, meaning future proceedings on the same or similar facts are not barred.

Victims’ representatives warned the withdrawal could feel like the end of a nearly two-decade wait for accountability. DNHR said it recognized prosecutors’ duty not to proceed on unreliable evidence, while also sharing concerns that Darfuri communities may feel abandoned. The report noted prosecutors said wider Darfur-related work continues.