Sudan detains former ruling party head wanted by ICC

Sudan's army has detained Ahmed Haroun, a former senior Islamist official from the era of ousted leader Omar al-Bashir, according to officials from Haroun's party, the National Congress Party (NCP).

Haroun has been in hiding for years and is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and genocide in the Darfur region during the early 2000s.

In a recent televised podcast, Haroun acknowledged that while the NCP and the army may not be politically aligned, they were united in Sudan's civil war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Two NCP officials confirmed Haroun's arrest but noted it was unclear why the army detained an ally. There has been no immediate comment from the Sudanese army or the ICC regarding the detention.

Members of the Islamist movement, to which the NCP is connected, have supported the army's operations against the RSF during the ongoing conflict, which has caused widespread ethnic violence, famine, and displacement. The United Nations describes the situation as the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

The NCP has roots in Sudan's Islamist movement that was dominant during the 1990s under Bashir's rule.