Omar al-Bashir, the former leader of Sudan who was overthrown several years ago, has been transferred from a prison north of Omdurman to Merowe Hospital, which is located around 450 kilometers from the country’s capital, Khartoum.
His legal team petitioned for the 80-year-old to be transported due to medical grounds, as al-Bashir required treatments that were not accessible at the Wadi Seedna military camp where he was previously incarcerated. The former minister of defense and the former minister of sports both moved with him.
Al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court, which Sudan has promised to turn him over to. The court has Al-Bashir wanted on allegations of war crimes and genocide connected to the fighting in Darfur, which erupted in 2003.
After rebels from the territory’s ethnic central and sub-Saharan African community launched an insurgency, al-Bashir’s government responded with a series of bombings and raids by militias. These militias stand accused of mass killings and rapes.
With Al-Bashir’s transfer, Sudan is still dealing with a conflict that erupted in April of last year between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army. The violence has resulted in millions of people being displaced and severe famine for about half of the nation’s population.
(Africanews)
