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 from Kampala, reported that the International Criminal Court prosecution has formally notified judges that it is withdrawing charges against Abdallah Banda Abakar Norain in a Darfur war crimes case. The notice came during a 21 July 2026 status conference, with Banda following by video link from Khartoum. The prosecution said years of review had left it without evidence strong enough to show a reasonable prospect of conviction.

Banda had faced charges confirmed in 2011 over the 2007 attack on the African Union Mission in Sudan base at Haskanita, where peacekeepers were killed. He had been considered a fugitive after failing to appear for trial in 2014. According to the report, prosecutors said the case weakened after key witnesses were removed or stopped cooperating, and later evidence undermined part of the original theory of the case. Internal and external reviews in 2023, followed by additional witness interviews in late 2025, did not repair the evidentiary gaps.

The report said ICC judges had twice rejected earlier prosecution requests to withdraw the charges, in 2023 and 2024, including because Banda remained at large. The Chamber later authorized withdrawal in June 2026, while leaving open the possibility of future proceedings on the same or similar facts.

Victims’ representatives told the court the move could mark the end of almost two decades of waiting for justice. DNHR said it understood the need not to proceed on unreliable evidence, but warned the decision could deepen feelings of abandonment among Darfuri communities. Prosecutors said the step did not reduce the gravity of the alleged crimes and that other Darfur-related work continues.