Sudan arrests ICC-wanted Ahmed Haroun

Sudan's army-aligned authorities arrested Ahmed Haroun, the ICC-wanted head of ousted ruler Omar al-Bashir's former ruling party, a security official told AFP on Sunday.

The official said Haroun was taken into custody based on legal procedures. The official requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Haroun, a leading Islamist figure, heads the National Congress party. The International Criminal Court wants him on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to his alleged role in recruiting the Janjaweed militia, which carried out ethnic massacres in Darfur in the 2000s and later became the Rapid Support Forces.

Haroun was first arrested in April 2019 after Bashir was ousted following mass protests. He was jailed until 2023, when he and other former regime leaders escaped prison in an apparent jailbreak at the start of the war between Sudan's army and the RSF.

He later reappeared rallying support for the Sudanese army. On Friday, he gave a four-hour podcast interview in which he affirmed support for Sudan's de facto leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The war between Burhan's army and the RSF began in April 2023 after a power struggle over the planned integration of the paramilitary force into the regular army.