Sudan's former long-term autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), is reportedly being treated in a military hospital in the capital of Khartoum, according to army sources.
The Sudanese army posted a statement on Wednesday on its Facebook page saying al-Bashir, 79, was in the hospital and is being guarded there by police. The information could not be independently verified.
On Tuesday, there were conflicting reports about al-Bashir's whereabouts. Al-Bashir ruled Sudan authoritatively for 30 years and was being held in Kobar prison in Khartoum after a conviction on corruption charges. He is also on trial for a 1989 at the beginning of his term.
According to media reports, the prison police released prisoners at the weekend because they could not ensure their basic care.
The ICC has been searching for al-Bashir since 2009 with warrants for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur conflict.
Al-Bashir's transfer to a military hospital comes amid a power struggle between the army and the paramilitary in Sudan. De facto president Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is also the commander-in-chief of the army, wants to use the military to oust his deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo.
Daglo is the leader of the influential paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The two generals took over leadership of the country of around 46 million people through two joint military coups in 2019 and 2021.
The situation for people caught in the current war has deteriorated. On Wednesday, the aid organization SOS Children's Villages announced that its facility in the capital had been attacked by gunmen.A total of 68 children and 19 staff members had to be evacuated and are now housed in rental flats in other districts of Khartoum. Conditions are poor.
"Many people have spent days on the floor, not even daring to lift their heads, due to repeated uncontrolled shelling," said Ahmed Mihaimeed, a member of the aid agency's crisis management team.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed the death of another US citizen in Sudan on Wednesday. He did not give details.
Since the fighting started on April 15, some 460 people have died and nearly 4,100 were injured, according to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO). The actual number of dead and injured is seen has significantly higher.
