Previously Imprisoned Former Sudanese Officials Released, Casting Doubt on Bashir

Members of the former administration, including ousted president Omar al-Bashir, have reportedly left the prison where they were being kept, raising concerns about their whereabouts amid a weak cease-fire in Sudan. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) accused the Sudanese military of attacking the prison, while the military denied the allegations.

Tuesday saw the announcement of the release of Omar al-Bashir and other previous leaders from Khartoum’s Kober prison by Ahmed Haroun, an official in Omar al-Bashir’s security detail.

Inmates were let to leave Sunday following battles near the prison, which was unable to care for them due to the fighting, according to Haroun, speaking to state-run Sudan TV.

His remarks were repeated on Saudi Arabia’s Al Hadath TV.

All prisoners, according to Haroun, lack basic amenities like access to water, electricity, and medical treatment. Due to the continued exchange of gunfire, he added, some prisoners had been hurt.

Concerns were raised regarding Bashir, who was also being imprisoned at the prison, and other former officials whose whereabouts had not been disclosed.

The former minister Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein, Bashir, and Haroun had been taken to a military hospital, according to unnamed military sources who spoke to the Associated Press.

The International Criminal Court has placed Bashir, Haroun, and Hussin on its wanted list for crimes committed in Sudan’s Darfur area.

Bashir was at a military hospital, hospital sources verified to the news agency Reuters.

According to The Sudan Tribune, Hussein and Bashir are currently receiving medical care at a military hospital in Omdurman, a town close to Khartoum.

The Alia Military Hospital has been holding Bashir and Hussein for more than three months, according to sources there, according to VOA.

Haroun suggested that those released from the prison on Sunday were on their own in his comments to Sudan TV on Tuesday.

He claimed they made the decision to take personal responsibility for their own safety. Once there is a functioning court system in place, Haroun continued, they are prepared to appear before the law.

In the conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that started on April 15, Haroun also delineated his support for the Sudanese military.

The RSF has been accused of posing as the military to free the prisoners and loot the jail by the Sudanese military, which has denied any role in the release.

The RSF refuted the charges and asserted that the military’s release of the former leaders was a part of a plot to install Bashir back in power.

After a popular movement against his three-decade reign, the military and RSF deposed Bashir in 2019.

Despite their claims to favor a restoration of democracy in Sudan, both have obstructed attempts to install a government dominated by the civilian population, including a coup in 2021.

A deadline for the RSF’s incorporation into the military caused conflict between the two sides.

The fighting has prompted international missions to evacuate ambassadors and civilians.

While thousands of Sudanese have fled the fighting, millions are still trying to survive in conflict areas as supplies of food, water, and medication are running low.