(Reuters) – Authorities are seeking to re-arrest key Sudanese Islamist leaders who broke out of prison in the early days of the war in Sudan, as opponents warn of their moves to regain power, according to warrants seen by Reuters.
The more than three-month war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has been framed by the paramilitary force, politicians, and some observers as an attempt at a resurgence by the regime of autocrat Omar al-Bashir.
The army says the war is the result of a rebellion by the RSF.
The documents issued by Kassala province and dated July 25 call on officers to arrest Ahmed Haroun, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, and three others who were top officials during Bashir’s three-decade rule.
The five, along with others, had escaped Khartoum’s infamous Kober Prison having been held since 2019, when the army and RSF overthrew Bashir after months of protests.
Bashir, who along with Haroun is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity in Darfur, had been staying at a military hospital.
The two sides later fell out over plans to integrate their forces during a new transition to democratic rule.
At the time, Haroun said in a voice recording that the officials would take control of their own protection, and would turn themselves in when courts began to function.
He has not been heard of since, but eyewitnesses said in late July that he had been seen in the town of Medani, south of Khartoum.
On Friday, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, alleged that Haroun had taken control of the security forces in Kassala and Gadaref states, two states in eastern Sudan which remain under army control.
In June, Reuters reported that thousands of intelligence operatives active under Bashir were fighting alongside the army. The army has denied accusations that it has been infiltrated by Islamists.
In a statement, civilian politician Yasir Arman warned that members of Bashir’s National Congress Party were attempting to participate in peace talks sponsored by African countries.
(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir, editing by Ed Osmond)
