Al-Bashir’s Whereabouts...a Mystery that Baffles the Sudanese

 Al-Bashir with some members of his military team in 1989 (AFP)
Al-Bashir with some members of his military team in 1989 (AFP)
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Al-Bashir’s Whereabouts...a Mystery that Baffles the Sudanese

 Al-Bashir with some members of his military team in 1989 (AFP)
Al-Bashir with some members of his military team in 1989 (AFP)

The whereabouts of former President Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown in a popular revolution on April 11, 2019, are still unknown for the majority of the Sudanese people.

The ousted president was placed in the central Kobar Prison, along with some members of his regime, before he was transferred by medical decision to the military hospital in the city of Omdurman. His aides escaped from prison two weeks after the start of the war.

Since that date, no one knows the exact location of the former president and the members of his regime, who escaped from prison and were accused of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region, by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In light of the conflicting news about Al-Bashir’s whereabouts, Asharq Al-Awsat spoke with a source close to the decision-making centers in the Islamic Movement, who confirmed that Al-Bashir was smuggled from the military hospital to a safe place in northern Sudan, along with his Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Mohammed Hussein.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said that the smuggling operation was carried out by a group of extremist fighters affiliated with the Islamic Movement organization and the Islamists’ special forces, without significant participation from the army, whose mission was limited to providing security for the operation.

The source spoke about the implementation of a complex airdrop operation that preceded the smuggling of the two men, which aimed to rescue them by providing them with urgent medical and food supplies, following the deterioration of their health condition.

He added that the two men were taken directly to the city of Berber in the north of the country, where it was reported that Islamist leaders held a large secret meeting in the city, chaired by Al-Bashir. The operation took place more than a month ago, according to the same source.



Israel Warfare Methods 'Consistent With Genocide', Says UN Committee

Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", according to the United Nations Special Committee - AFP
Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", according to the United Nations Special Committee - AFP
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Israel Warfare Methods 'Consistent With Genocide', Says UN Committee

Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", according to the United Nations Special Committee - AFP
Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", according to the United Nations Special Committee - AFP

Israel's warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, a special UN committee said Thursday, accusing the country of "using starvation as a method of war".

The United Nations Special Committee pointed to "mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians", in a fresh report covering the period from Hamas's deadly October 7 attack in Israel last year through to July, AFP reported.

"Through its siege over Gaza, obstruction of humanitarian aid, alongside targeted attacks and killing of civilians and aid workers, despite repeated UN appeals, binding orders from the International Court of Justice and resolutions of the Security Council, Israel is intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury," it said in a statement.

Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", said the committee, which has for decades been investigating Israeli practices affecting rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israel, it charged, was "using starvation as a method of war and inflicting collective punishment on the Palestinian population".

A UN-backed assessment at the weekend warned that famine was imminent in northern Gaza.

Thursday's report documented how Israel's extensive bombing campaign in Gaza had decimated essential services and unleashed an environmental catastrophe with lasting health impacts.

By February this year, Israeli forces had used more than 25,000 tonnes of explosives across the Gaza Strip, "equivalent to two nuclear bombs", the report pointed out.

"By destroying vital water, sanitation and food systems, and contaminating the environment, Israel has created a lethal mix of crises that will inflict severe harm on generations to come," the committee said.

The committee said it was "deeply alarmed by the unprecedented destruction of civilian infrastructure and the high death toll in Gaza", where more than 43,700 people have been killed since the war began, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The staggering number of deaths raised serious concerns, it said, about Israel's use of artificial intelligence-enhanced targeting systems in its military operations.

"The Israeli military’s use of AI-assisted targeting, with minimal human oversight, combined with heavy bombs, underscores Israel’s disregard of its obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants and take adequate safeguards to prevent civilian deaths," it said.

It warned that reported new directives lowering the criteria for selecting targets and increasing the previously accepted ratio of civilian to combatant casualties appeared to have allowed the military to use AI systems to "rapidly generate tens of thousands of targets, as well as to track targets to their homes, particularly at night when families shelter together".

The committee stressed the obligations of other countries to urgently act to halt the bloodshed, saying that "other States are unwilling to hold Israel accountable and continue to provide it with military and other support".