After a jailbreak, a former Sudanese politician accused of crimes against humanity said he and several former leaders are free.
Ahmed Haroun was among those being detained in Khartoum’s Kober prison on International Criminal Court (ICC)-related charges.
It appears that a ceasefire between opposing military factions is mainly held.
But there are doubts regarding the commitment of both parties to a lasting peace.
The conflict, which began on April 15, was precipitated by an acrimonious power struggle between the leaders of Sudan’s regular army and a rival paramilitary organization, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Ahmed Haroun and Omar al-Bashir, the former president of Sudan, were incarcerated at Kober prison. Where reports of a prison break surfaced earlier this week.
Haroun confirmed in a statement carried on Sudan’s Tayba TV on Tuesday that he and other Bashir loyalists who served under him had left prison, but he stated that he would be willing to appear before the judiciary as soon as it resumed operations.
Haroun claimed in a social media-disseminated audio message that the group’s escape was facilitated by prison guards and the military.
“We decided to protect ourselves due to a lack of security, water, food, and medical care. Also the deaths of many prisoners in Kober,” Haroun told al-Sudani, a Bashir-affiliated daily newspaper.
Haroun was instrumental in the Sudanese government’s brutal response to two protracted and unresolved civil conflicts in Darfur (beginning in 2003) and South Kordofan (beginning in 2011).
The International Criminal Court indicted him in 2007 for his alleged participation in the atrocities in Darfur. The first genocide of the 21st century, when he was the interior minister of the country.
He faces twenty crimes against humanity and twenty-two war crimes, including murder, rape, persecution, and torture. He denies the accusations.
Former UN Sudan coordinator Mukesh Kapila characterized Haroun as “extremely dangerous” and “unreliable,” adding that he had “many followers who have been lurking for decades.”
“This, along with the emergence of other armed groups, changes the dynamics in ways that are difficult to predict at the moment – but it’s bad news,” he told.
Haroun was arrested in 2019 after veteran leader Bashir was overthrown by the military in response to widespread demonstrations. Since then, the country has experienced frequent unrest and numerous coup attempts.
The 79-year-old Bashir had been serving a prison sentence for corruption. He was taken to a military hospital for police detention before the latest conflicts, according to Sudan’s army.
He denies spearheading a Darfur mass murder and rape campaign by the International Criminal Court.
The Sudanese Ministry of the Interior has accused the RSF of breaking into five prisons in the past few days, including Bashir’s former penitentiary, Kober.
According to the police, the assault resulted in the deaths of two prison guards, and the RSF released all detainees.
The RSF denies the charges, saying the facility was “forcibly evacuated” to reinstate Bashir.
A spokesman for the army denied any involvement, stating that the military “has no oversight over prisons.” He stated that the military and police were coordinating to return prisoners to prisons.
However, many Sudanese will see this as Gen Burhan’s latest move to reinstate Bashir’s Islamist allies in politics.
The armistice in Sudan has enabled several nations to evacuate their citizens from the country. Multiple evacuation flights transporting British nationals from Sudan have landed in Cyprus, while a boat carrying more than 1,600 people from dozens of nations has arrived in Saudi Arabia.
Both Germany and France claim that all of their citizens have now departed.
On Tuesday, Volker Perthes, the UN’s special envoy to Sudan, said the 72-hour ceasefire was holding.
However, reports of gunfire and explosions persisted in Khartoum and the nearby city of Omdurman.
Mr. Perthes stated, “There is no clear indication that either side is prepared to negotiate seriously, suggesting that both believe a military victory over the other is possible.”
The ceasefire, which went into effect at midnight local time (22:00 GMT) on Monday, is the most recent effort to restore stability to the region, where fighting broke out nearly two weeks ago.
At least 459 people have died in this fight.
According to reports, thousands more have escaped Sudan, and the United Nations has warned that this is likely to continue. Buses and other vehicles continue to depart Khartoum despite the escalating costs of fuel and bus tickets.
24,000 pregnant Khartoum women are expected to give birth in the next weeks, which worries those left behind.
During the combat, many homes, hospitals, and other public facilities were damaged or destroyed, according to Mr. Perthes, in residential areas near the army headquarters and airport in Khartoum.
