(Reuters) – With conflict raging in Sudan, the army said on Wednesday former long-time autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir had been moved from prison to a military hospital along with at least five members of his former administration.
Meanwhile, another former Bashir government figure – Ahmed Haroun – said he had left prison with others and would take responsibility for their protection, raising questions about their whereabouts and whether they may seek to regain sway.
Bashir and his allies were jailed after a popular uprising in 2019.
Many Sudanese believe Bashir’s supporters could reassert influence as the military factions that ousted him, the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, battle for supremacy. Bashir loyalists retain deep roots in the army.
Bashir and two of his allies – including Haroun – are wanted on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the Darfur conflict, along with a rebel leader.
Here are some details on Bashir and former officials:
OMAR AL-BASHIR
Bashir, 79, controlled Sudan with an iron fist after leading a group of Islamist military officers to seize power in a bloodless 1989 coup for which he faces trial.
His 30-year rule was roiled by a war with rebels who won the secession of South Sudan in 2011 and a conflict from 2003 onwards in the Darfur region that killed 300,000 and led to accusations of genocide.
Before the clashes began in Khartoum, Sudan’s main pro-democracy party accused Bashir loyalists of fuelling the rift between the rival military factions to undermine the transition to civilian rule.
ABDELRAHIM MOHAMED HUSSEIN
The former interior and defence minister, who also faces an ICC warrant, was one of the former regime members moved to the military hospital along with Bashir, the army said.
The ICC said that as interior minister and as Bashir’s special envoy for Darfur, Hussein had coordinated, armed and funded militia that carried out abuses including persecution, murder and rape. It accuses him of orchestrating genocide.
AHMED HAROUN
One of Bashir’s main allies, Haroun held a string of top roles including as a government minister, governor of South Kordofan province and acting head of the ruling party.
On Tuesday he said on Sudanese television that he and some other figures arrested in 2019 had escaped from the high-security Kober prison and would take responsibility for their own protection. He did not name the others or say where he was.
The ICC accuses Haroun of crimes against humanity, saying he recruited and armed “Janjaweed” militias in Darfur while having full knowledge of atrocities they committed against civilians.
ALI OSMAN TAHA
Taha was seen as a powerful Islamist in the Bashir administration, serving in posts including first vice president and foreign minister and was once seen as a potential challenger for the presidency.
He was a prominent figure in peace talks to end the civil war between north and south Sudan, which became independent in 2011.
BAKRI HASSAN SALEH
One of the original officers who staged the 1989 coup that brought Bashir to power, Saleh remained a powerful figure for 30 years. He is among the former officials who were moved to a military hospital, the army said on Wednesday.
Saleh served as one of Bashir’s closest confidants holding such senior roles as vice president and prime minister, and was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of plotting a coup to restore the former leader to power.
NAFIE ALI NAFIE
Nafie once headed Sudan’s national intelligence and security service and was seen as a hardliner who opposed southern secession before 2011 and backed the military campaign in Darfur.
When the ICC warrant prevented Bashir from travelling abroad, Nafie operated as a presidential envoy.
(Compiled by Angus McDowall and Tom Perry; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
