A former Sudanese politician wanted for alleged crimes against humanity has said he and other former officials are no longer in prison – after reports of a breakout.
Ahmad Haroun was among those imprisoned in Kobar prison in the capital Khartoum who are facing charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The ceasefire between the warring military factions appears to be largely intact.
But there are doubts about the commitment of both sides to a lasting peace.
The conflict – which began on April 15 – arose out of a bitter power struggle between Sudan’s regular army and leaders of a rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Earlier this week there were reports of a prison break in Kobar – where Ahmad Haroun was serving a sentence alongside former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.
On Tuesday, Haroun confirmed in a statement broadcast on Sudan’s Tayyaba TV that he and other Bashir loyalists who had served under him had left prison – but said the judiciary would act whenever it did. So they will be ready to appear before him.
In an audio message circulating on social media, Haroon claimed that the group was helped by prison guards and the armed forces in their escape.
“We decided to save ourselves because of the lack of security, water, food and treatment, as well as the death of many prisoners in Kobar,” Haroun told Bashir-based al-Sudani daily.
Harun was instrumental in the Sudanese government’s brutal response to Darfur (since 2003) and South Kordofan (since 2011) – two long-running and still unresolved civil wars.
He was indicted by the ICC in 2007 for his alleged role in atrocities in Darfur – described as the first genocide of the 21st century – when he was the country’s interior minister.
He faces 20 counts of crimes against humanity and 22 counts of war crimes, including murder, rape, persecution and torture. He denies the allegations.
Former UN coordinator for Sudan Mukesh Kapila described Haroun as “extremely dangerous” and “untrustworthy”, adding that he has “many followers who have been in hiding for the last two decades”.
He told JEE News, “These and other armed groups are now coming out of the woodwork, really changing the dynamics in ways that are hard to predict at the moment – But it’s really bad news,” he told JEE News.
Haroun was arrested in 2019, after veteran leader Bashir was ousted by the military during mass protests. Since then, the country has been plagued by ongoing unrest and several other coup attempts.
Bashir – who is 79 years old – was serving a prison sentence for corruption. He is in police custody at a military hospital – moved there before the latest hostilities broke out, according to Sudan’s military.
He has also been accused by the ICC of leading a campaign of mass killings and rapes in Sudan’s Darfur region, which he denies.
Sudan’s interior ministry has accused the RSF of breaking into five prisons in the past few days – including Kobar, which Bashir had already left.
Police said the raid led to the death of several prison officials, and that the RSF released all those held there.
The RSF has denied the allegations, instead claiming that the military “forcibly vacated” the facility as part of a plan to restore Bashir to power.
Many Sudanese will believe this is the latest example of Sudan’s armed forces chief, General Burhan, trying to restore Bashir’s Islamist lieutenants to the forefront of Sudanese politics.
The ceasefire in Sudan has allowed several countries to evacuate their citizens from the country. Several flights carrying British citizens from Sudan have arrived in Cyprus, while a boat evacuating more than 1,600 people from dozens of countries has now arrived in Saudi Arabia.
