Sudan detains former ruling party chief Haroun, wanted by ICC

Sudan's army has detained Ahmed Haroun, chairman of the former ruling National Congress Party who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide in Darfur. Haroun's arrest on November 8, 2026, confirmed by party officials, comes despite his recent statements supporting the military against the Rapid Support Forces. The move occurs amidst more than three years of civil war in Sudan, which has triggered widespread famine and what the United Nations terms the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Detention of Ahmed Haroun

• ▪Neither the Sudanese army nor the International Criminal Court immediately issued a comment following the detention of Ahmed Haroun
• ▪The Sudanese army detained Ahmed Haroun, chairman of Sudan's former ruling National Congress Party, according to two party officials on November 8, 2026

ICC charges against Ahmed Haroun

• ▪Ahmed Haroun has dismissed the International Criminal Court's charges of war crimes and genocide against him as political
• ▪Ahmed Haroun is wanted by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes and genocide in Sudan's Darfur region in the early 2000s

Role of the National Congress Party and Islamists

• ▪Sudan's National Congress Party is rooted in the country's Islamist movement, which was dominant during the early era of ousted leader Omar al-Bashir in the 1990s
• ▪Islamist movement operatives stated they aided Sudanese army advances against the Rapid Support Forces during more than three years of civil war
• ▪Ahmed Haroun stated in a televised podcast interview on November 7, 2026 that the National Congress Party and the Sudanese army may not be politically aligned but were united in Sudan's civil war against the Rapid Support Forces