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KHARTOUM - 18 Mar 2020

Sudan orders arrest of ex-foreign minister over 1989 coup

File photo: Sudan’s former foreign minister Ali Kerti
File photo: Sudan’s former foreign minister Ali Kerti

The Sudanese prosecutor’s office on Tuesday ordered the arrest of former foreign minister Ali Karti for his role in the 1989 coup which brought Omar al-Bashir to power.

The prosecutor’s office said in a statement Mr. Karti’s assets would be frozen and arrest warrants were issued for five other people, including Omar Suleiman, a former head of a parliamentary chamber and the man believed to have accompanied Bashir to Khartoum during the military coup.

Al-Bashir, who was overthrown by the military in April last year amid nationwide protests, faces charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity over the conflict that broke out in Darfur in 2003.

Al-Bashir ruled Sudan for 30 years.

Since his ouster last year, al-Bashir has been in jail in the capital, Khartoum, on charges of corruption.

The prosecution’s case against Bashir and other members of his regime accused of orchestrating the coup started in November last year.

Sudan is now ruled by a joint civilian and military sovereign council, which is tasked with overseeing a transition to civilian rule as demanded by the protest movement.