The Sudanese army has detained Ahmed Haroun, chairman of the country’s former ruling National Congress Party (NCP), a senior party official told Radio Tamazuj on Sunday.
Haroun, an Islamist official wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged crimes committed in Darfur, was detained by Military Intelligence officers in Khartoum, the official said.
His detention comes two days after he made his first public appearance since the outbreak of Sudan’s war in April 2023, during a four-hour televised podcast interview.
In the interview, Haroun discussed relations between Islamists and the military leadership, the formation of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the ongoing conflict and prospects for peace.
He rejected suggestions that Islamists were responsible for starting the war, saying they joined the fighting after the military leadership called for popular mobilisation to help defeat the RSF.
Haroun said the NCP and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) might not be politically aligned but were united in the fight against the paramilitary group.
He also dismissed suggestions of formal political or organisational ties between Islamists and the military leadership, describing their relationship as one based on shared interests on the battlefield.
“Some people think there is camouflage or other ties between the Islamists and the National Congress Party with the military leadership, but this is not true,” he said.
“The relationship that exists is one of people united by the battlefield. It does not matter if they disagree on other matters of performance in the executive and economic spheres, but at the moment of battle, other things become less of a priority,” he added.
Haroun said wars could ultimately be ended only through peace negotiations, arguing that military operations were also intended to strengthen the parties’ positions at the negotiating table.
He also said army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had at some point been influenced by what he described as propaganda against Islamists.
Haroun accused opposition groups of conducting a sustained campaign against Islamists and the RSF since 2018.
Opposition reaction
Sudanese opposition politician Khalid Omar Yousif described the reported arrest as an attempt to deflect criticism following Haroun’s public appearance.
In a post on his Facebook page, Yousif, deputy chairman of the Sudanese Congress Party and a leading member of the Somoud coalition, said al-Burhan had long known that Haroun was in Sudan and that the podcast interview had revealed nothing new to the military leadership.
Yousif alleged that Haroun had remained in Sudan under al-Burhan’s knowledge, protection and supervision since escaping from prison following the outbreak of war in April 2023.
He accused Haroun of actively participating in the conflict alongside members of the former ruling Islamist movement, which he said had helped fuel the war.
Yousif further claimed that Haroun’s associates and members of his political group occupied influential positions within al-Burhan’s government and its political and security institutions.
He said reports of Haroun’s arrest emerged after the interview triggered widespread domestic and international criticism, which he argued had caught those seeking to bring Islamist figures back into the political arena off guard.
According to Yousif, the reported detention was an attempt to contain the backlash and ease pressure on the military leadership.
Background
The NCP is rooted in Sudan’s Islamist movement, which wielded considerable influence during the rule of former President Omar al-Bashir.
Haroun was among dozens of Sudanese officials arrested in 2019 after a popular uprising and subsequent military coup ended al-Bashir’s nearly three-decade rule.
He later escaped from Kobar Prison in Khartoum amid the turmoil following the outbreak of war in April 2023 and subsequently expressed support for the SAF.
Haroun is wanted by the ICC over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur in the early 2000s. The charges include murder, rape, torture, attacks on civilians and the destruction of property.
The alleged crimes were committed while he served as interior minister and later as humanitarian affairs minister under al-Bashir.
In January 2024, the United States offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Haroun’s capture.
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