Ex-Sudanese minister wanted for war crimes escapes from prison

A former member of a Sudanese military government led by ousted president Omar al-Bashir who was declared wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes has escaped from the Kober prison in the capital, Khartoum.

The suspect, Ahmed Haroun, was a notorious head of the ruling National Congress Party who led the regime’s infamous counter-insurgency operations in Darfur in the mid-2000s escaped from prison during the ongoing war in the North Africa country.

Haroun and his men were credited with the arbitrary arrest and killing of thousands of Sudanese and opposition figures during the Darfur operation.

He was arrested alongside other officials of the regime following a popular uprising and military coup that toppled Al-Bashir in 2019.

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Haroun was declared wanted by the ICC and was charged with more than 40-count charge of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, rape, torture, attacks on civilians and destruction of property in Darfur.

He served as Sudan’s State Minister for the Interior and later State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs at the time.

Haroun, who confirmed his escape from prison in an audio message circulated on social media on Wednesday, said he left the prison with a few members of Al-Bashir’s government after gunmen stormed the facility on Sunday.

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