Facing Dozens Of Indictments Including Rape, Former Politician Ahmed Haroun Logout From Sudan's Khartoum Prison

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JAKARTA - Former Sudanese politician Ahmed Haroun admitted that he was no longer imprisoned in the midst of an raging war in Sudan. Haroun was previously detained in a Kober prison in the capital Khartoum and is facing charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ceasefire between the warring military factions seems to still hold. But there are doubts about the two sides' commitment to lasting peace. The conflict-which began on April 15- comes from a fierce power struggle between the leaders of Sudan's regular army and rival paramilitary groups. Reports surfaced earlier this week about a prison break-in in Kober, where Ahmed Haroun served a sentence with Omar al-Bashir, the former president of Sudan. In a statement broadcast on Sudan's Tayba TV Tuesday, Haroun confirmed that he and a former other official on duty under Bashir had left prison. However, Haroun argued whenever he would appear before the court when it was functioning normally. Still from audio messages circulating on social media, Harun claims himself and former other officials have decided to leave with the help of guards and armed forces. "We made the decision to protect ourselves due to a lack of security, water, food and care, as well as the deaths of many prisoners in Kober," Haroun told al-Sudani. Al-Sudani is a daily newspaper in Sudan known to have ties to Bashir. Bashir was ousted by the military after mass protests in 2019 and has served a prison sentence for corruption. Sudanese soldiers said the 79-year-old was currently in a military hospital in police custody, and was transferred there before hostilities broke out. Bashir is accused by the ICC of leading a campaign for mass murder and rape in Sudan's Darfur region, which he denies. Meanwhile, Haroun faces 20 counts of crimes against humanity and 22 charges of war crimes that were also allegedly committed in the Darfur region between 2003 and 2004 while serving as interior minister of the country. The charges include murder, rape, torture and torture. Haroun previously also denied allegations by the ICC, filed against him in 2007. He was arrested in 2019 following the coup against Bashir. Since then, this country has experienced frequent unrest and several other coup attempts. Ceasefires in Sudan have allowed several countries to evacuate their nationals abroad. A second evacuation flight that rescued British citizens from Sudan has landed in Cyprus, while a ship that evacuated more than 1,600 people from dozens of countries has now arrived in Saudi Arabia. Volker Perthes, who is a special UN envoy to Sudan and is currently in the country, said it appeared that a 72-hour battle break was still being observed in parts of the country. However, gunfire and explosions were reported in Khartoum and the nearby city of Omdurman. "There is no clear sign yet that both sides are ready to negotiate seriously, suggesting that both think securing a military victory over others is possible," Perthes said. The ceasefire, which began at midnight local time (22:00 GMT) on Monday, is the latest attempt to bring stability to the country after fighting broke out between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) nearly two weeks ago. At least 459 people have died in this conflict so far, although the actual number is expected to be much higher. Thousands more are reported to have fled Sudan and the United Nations has warned that this is likely to continue.

There are also concerns for those who are lagging behind, with an estimated 24,000 pregnant women currently in Khartoum expected to give birth in the coming weeks. Perthes also said that many houses, hospitals, and other public facilities had been damaged or destroyed in residential areas near the army headquarters and airports in Khartoum during the fighting.