Former president al-Bashir moved to hospital before fighting began, says Sudanese army

Report from BBC News LIVE Reporting

Wednesday 26 April 2023 10:19 BST UK - full copy:

Former president al-Bashir moved to hospital before fighting began, says military

Former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir was moved from prison to a military hospital before the outbreak of fighting earlier this month, according to the Sudanese army.

Bashir came to power in a military coup in 1989 and ruled Sudan until 2019, when he was toppled by another coup after large-scale protests.

Following his ousting, he was convicted of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison.

The army said in a statement that Bashir and a number of others had been moved from the Kober prison, near capital Khartoum, to a military hospital under police custody on the recommendation of medical staff.

Questions were raised about Bashir's whereabouts after a former minister in his government, Ali Haroun, announced on Tuesday that the former president had left the prison with other former officials.

Some reports had suggested that Bashir may have been released during an attack on the prison.

Both Bashir and Haroun are wanted by the International Criminal Court over alleged atrocities in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

Read the BBC's profile of Bashir here.

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Whereabouts of former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir unclear amid mass prison breaks

Report from BBC News LIVE Reporting

By BBC Monitoring

Dated Wednesday 26 April 2023 8:37 BST UK - full copy:

Whereabouts of former President Bashir unclear amid mass prison breaks

Detained ex-officials from the regime of ousted President Omar al-Bashir have reportedly fled from Kober Prison in Khartoum, which has been the epicentre of Sudan's power struggle.

It is unclear if Bashir - who was jailed for corruption during his 30-year tenure - is among the escapees.

However, Al Jazeera on Tuesday cited family members saying he was still receiving treatment at a military hospital in the Sudanese capital.

And an official from the former governing National Congress Party (NCP) who fled from the prison told the Al-Sudani newspaper that they will "surrender to the judicial authorities when the situation allows".

"We made a decision to protect ourselves due to lack of security, water, food and treatment, as well as the death of many prisoners in Kober [prison]," Ahmed Haroun said.

Haroun is wanted for alleged war crimes, which he has previously denied. They relate to the alleged incitement of violence against civilians in Darfur. He was arrested in 2019 following the coup against Bashir.

Prisons have reportedly been targeted as fighting between the rival military factions rage for a second week.

In South Darfur's capital of Nyala, at least 750 prisoners reportedly escaped following protests and riots by inmates, while hundreds of others have escaped from other prisons in Khartoum and Omdurman.

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VIDEO: Devastation on streets of Khartoum. Gunfire in Port Sudan Prison. RSF blamed for storming prisons

Report and video from Sky News UK

Timestamped 12:24 BST Tuesday 25 April 2023 

Devastation on the streets of Khartoum

The streets of the Sudanese capital have been left looking like something out of a disaster movie by the intense fighting.

Desolate roads littered with rubble are flanked by scorched, windowless buildings.

People wandering the streets were seen carrying supplies either by hand or some in wheelbarrows.

View original and video here.

Getty Images Copyright: Getty Images
Image caption: Buildings across Khartoum are pockmarked from more than a week of heavy fighting

There are also reports of gunfire inside Port Sudan prison. An army spokesman told Sky News Arabia that the RSF was responsible for "storming prisons". Source: BBC News Live Reporting.