Ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been moved to a military-run hospital in Khartoum for treatment and needs further medical care abroad, his lawyer said Thursday.
Bashir, 82, was ousted by Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2019 after months of mass protests that brought an end to his nearly three-decade rule.
The army and RSF later turned against each other over plans to integrate the paramilitary force into the military as part of a planned transition to civilian rule. Their dispute erupted into war in April 2023, triggering a devastating conflict that has killed and displaced large numbers of people and left much of Sudan in ruins.
Bashir had been moved from prison to a hospital before the war broke out and was later transferred to the town of Merowe in northern Sudan, where he was placed under military guard.
Bashir was sent to Khartoum for medical tests after developing symptoms that required diagnosis and treatment outside Sudan, his lawyer, Mohamed Alhassan Alameen, told Reuters.
In a statement Wednesday, Bashir’s family said his need for medical treatment outside Sudan "has become critical and urgent, and cannot be delayed any longer," but said they had not received official permission to send him abroad.
It was unclear precisely what condition Bashir was suffering from. Sudan’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Several prominent Sudanese Islamist figures also called for his transfer out of the country on social media.
Any such move would likely cause discord within Sudan and could draw international condemnation, as Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges including genocide. He also faces open cases in Sudan.
During Bashir’s three decades in power, Sudan was listed by the U.S. as a state sponsor of terrorism and was subject to wide-ranging sanctions. Protesters during the popular uprising accused him and his Islamist National Congress Party of widespread corruption and repression.
After his ouster, Bashir was tried on various charges and convicted of corruption and illicit financing, for which he was serving a prison sentence when the war began.