Deposed Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir was moved to a military hospital in the Sudanese capital from Kober prison before the fighting between the Sudanese Army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out on April 15, news agency Reuters reported. Bashir's whereabouts came into question after a former minister in his government, Ali Haroun, on Tuesday, announced that he had left the prison with other former officials.
Al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan for three decades, was overthrown during an uprising in 2019. The International Criminal Court is looking for both Bashir and Haroun for genocide and other crimes committed during the conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region in the 2000s.
The Sudanese military and the paramilitary RSF, which together had removed al-Bashir from power during mass protests, are now battling each another across the capital.
A report in The Guardian said over the weekend, the fighting reached the prison where Omar was moved, with conflicting reports about what transpired.
The Sudanese army has accused the RSF of donning military uniforms and attacking the prison and releasing prisoners. The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has denied the allegations and claimed that the military "forcibly evacuated" the facility as part of a plan to restore al-Bashir to power, The Guardian reported.
Both the warring factions had agreed to a ceasefire of 72 hours beginning on Tuesday post negotiations mediated by the US and Saudi Arabia. However, gunfire and explosions could be heard during the night in Omdurman, which is one of Khartoum's sister cities on the Nile River where the army drones are kept to target RSF, as per Reuters.
U.N. special envoy on Sudan Volker Perthes informed United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday that the ceasefire "seems to be holding in some parts so far". He added that neither party showed readiness to "seriously negotiate, suggesting that both think that securing a military victory over the other is possible."
Reuters quoted him as saying that "This is a miscalculation." He further said that though Khartoum's airport was operational, the tarmac was damaged.
The first Turkish civilians that were evacuated from Sudan returned to Turkey on Wednesday and Saudi Arabia said that it has evacuated 13 of its nationals and 1,674 other people with no sign the warring parties are ready to seriously negotiate, reported Reuters.
The Turks came from Addis Ababa which is the Ethiopian capital, having reached there overland from Khartoum.
More flights were expected later on Wednesday to evacuate the remaining Turkish nationals who had crossed over to Ethiopia from Sudan.