Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain ( ar, عبد الله باندا أباكر نورين), commonly referred to as Abdallah Banda (), was the Commander-in-Chief of the

Justice and Equality Movement The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM; ar, حركة العدل والمساواة, ') is an opposition group in Sudan founded by Khalil Ibrahim. Gibril Ibrahim has led the group since January 2012 after the death of Khalil, his brother, in Dec ...

(JEM) Collective-Leadership, one of the components of the United Resistance Front. , he is wanted for trial before the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...

for three counts of war crimes allegedly committed during the

Haskanita raids The raids on Haskanita was an attack on African Union peacekeepers by rebel groups during the Darfur conflict. The attacks took place on 30 September and early October 2007 near the town of Haskanita in South Darfur. Three rebel commanders were ...

against African Union peacekeepers within the context of the

Darfur conflict The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups be ...

in Sudan.

Birth and ethnicity

According to information from the International Criminal Court, Abdallah Banda was born in or around 1963 in Wai, Dar Kobe,

North Darfur North Darfur State ( ar, ولاية شمال دارفور Wilāyat Šamāl Dārfūr; ''Shamal Darfor'') is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states composing the Darfur region. It has an area of 296,420 km2 and a ...

. He is a member of the

Zaghawa Zaghawa may refer to: * Zaghawa people * Zaghawa language Zaghawa is a Saharan language spoken by the Zaghawa people of east-central Chad (in the Sahel) and northwestern Sudan (Darfur). The people who speak this language call it Beria, from ''Be ...

tribe.

Haskanita raids

On the evening of 29 September 2007, groups led by Banda and Jerbo are alleged to have attacked

African Union Mission in Sudan The African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) was an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force operating primarily in the country's western region of Darfur to perform peacekeeping operations related to the Darfur conflict. It was founded in 2004, with a ...

(AMIS) soldiers at the Haskanita Military Group Site in Umm Kadada in North Darfur. A total of 12 AMIS peace keepers were killed.

ICC proceedings

After the Darfur situation was referred to the ICC by the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

through its Resolution 1593 on 31 March 2005 the Darfur conflict has been under the jurisdiction of the ICC. The Prosecutor of the Court opened an investigation on 6 June 2005. On 27 August 2009, summons to appear were issued against Banda and Jerbo under seal. They were unsealed on 15 June 2010, immediately before the two suspects' voluntary initial appearance before the Court. They were charged with three counts of war crimes: violence to life,

pillaging Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

and attacking peacekeepers. After the confirmation of charges hearing on 8 December 2010, the charges were confirmed and the suspects committed to trial on 7 March 2011. The ICC issued an arrest warrant in September 2014. His trial was indefinitely postponed while waiting for his arrest. , Banda remained at large.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banda, Abdallah 1963 births Living people People of the War in Darfur Fugitives wanted by the International Criminal Court People indicted for war crimes People from North Darfur Sudanese military personnel Zaghawa people