ICC withdraws charges, cancels arrest warrant for Sudanese ex-rebel Abdallah Banda

Abdallah Banda's initial appearance at the ICC in June 2010. (Photo: ICC)

By Bashir Mbuthia
Thursday, July 23, 2026

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The decision came after ICC judges approved the prosecution’s request to withdraw the charges last week, allowing the case to be terminated and cancelling an arrest warrant that had been issued against Abdallah in 2014.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday formally ended its war crimes case against Sudanese national and former Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) commander Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain, bringing to a close proceedings that had been pending for more than a decade over an alleged 2007 attack on African Union peacekeepers in Sudan’s Darfur region.

The decision came after ICC judges approved the prosecution’s request to withdraw the charges last week, allowing the case to be terminated and cancelling an arrest warrant that had been issued against Abdallah in 2014.

The move followed a disagreement between the prosecution and the ICC's Trial Chamber IV over whether the case should continue. While the judges said prosecutors had not proved that the evidence had weakened to the point that a trial was no longer possible, they accepted that the proceedings could not fairly continue after the prosecutor indicated he would not present the case.

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Abdallah’s case stems from an alleged attack on the African Union Mission in Sudan’s peacekeeping base in Haskanita, North Darfur, on September 29, 2007. Prosecutors alleged that he committed war crimes including murder or attempted murder, intentionally directing attacks against peacekeeping personnel and pillaging.

The case had moved to the trial stage in 2011 after ICC judges confirmed the charges against Abdallah. He had initially appeared voluntarily before the court during the pre-trial phase, but his failure to attend trial later led judges to issue an arrest warrant for him in 2014.