Sudan's army has detained Ahmed Haroun, the Islamist leader who chairs the country's former ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and one of the men most wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), two officials in his party told Reuters on Sunday, November 8. Reuters described the report as a developing story: the party officials did not say where the detention took place, and there was no immediate public comment from the Sudanese army or from the court in The Hague.

Source: Reuters, Nov 8 2026 — Sudan detains chairman of former ruling party, Ahmed Haroun, two party officials say; Haroun wanted by the ICC; no immediate comment from the army or the ICC

Haroun, 62, has been wanted by the ICC since 2007, when judges issued a warrant accusing him of 20 counts of crimes against humanity and 22 counts of war crimes — 42 counts in all — linked to the conflict in Darfur in 2003 and 2004. He served as a senior official under ousted president Omar al-Bashir, had been in hiding for years, and has dismissed the charges against him as political.

Source: QNC News, Nov 8 2026 — Haroun, 62, wanted since 2007 on 20 counts of crimes against humanity and 22 counts of war crimes over Darfur 2003-04; escaped Kobar Prison in 2023; US offered a $5 million reward in January 2024; Ali Kushayb convicted in October 2025

42ICC counts against Haroun: 20 of crimes against humanity and 22 of war crimes (ICC warrant, 2007)
2007Year the ICC warrant for Haroun was issued
$5 millionUS reward offered in January 2024 for information leading to his capture — yaani 50 lakh US dollars
2023Year he left Kobar Prison in Khartoum as the army–RSF war tore through the capital

An ally detained — a day after saying the two sides stood together

The detention surprised observers because of the timing. In a televised podcast interview on Saturday, Haroun had said the NCP and the army might not be politically aligned but were united in Sudan's civil war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Two NCP officials confirmed the arrest to Reuters, but it was unclear why the army had moved against an ally, and the military had issued no statement explaining the detention.

Source: Reuters via Devdiscourse, Nov 8 2026 — Haroun had been hiding for years, has dismissed the ICC charges as political; in a televised podcast on Saturday he said the NCP and the army were united against the RSF though not politically aligned

Haroun left Kober Prison in Khartoum during the early days of the war between the army and the RSF, which broke out in April 2023, and had remained in hiding since. The United States underlined how central his case remains to Darfur accountability in January 2024, when it offered a reward of $5 million — yaani 50 lakh dollars — for information leading to his capture.

Source: QNC News, Nov 8 2026 — Haroun, 62, wanted since 2007 on 20 counts of crimes against humanity and 22 counts of war crimes over Darfur 2003-04; escaped Kobar Prison in 2023; US offered a $5 million reward in January 2024; Ali Kushayb convicted in October 2025

Why the Darfur case matters

The Darfur situation was referred to the ICC by the United Nations Security Council under Resolution 1593 in 2005, which requires Sudan to cooperate with the court. Prosecutors have pressed Sudan for years to surrender Haroun, al-Bashir and former defence minister Abdel Raheem Hussein so trials can begin. Another indictee, the militia leader Ali Kushayb, was convicted by the court in October 2025 — the first verdict in the Darfur situation.

Source: QNC News, Nov 8 2026 — Haroun, 62, wanted since 2007 on 20 counts of crimes against humanity and 22 counts of war crimes over Darfur 2003-04; escaped Kobar Prison in 2023; US offered a $5 million reward in January 2024; Ali Kushayb convicted in October 2025

Sudan's army has been fighting the RSF since April 2023 in a war that has driven millions of people from their homes; the army-aligned government is based in Port Sudan. Whether Haroun's detention leads towards a handover to the ICC, a domestic process, or a political settlement inside the army's camp is not yet known — neither the army nor the court had commented in the reports.

Source: Reuters, Nov 8 2026 — Sudan detains chairman of former ruling party, Ahmed Haroun, two party officials say; Haroun wanted by the ICC; no immediate comment from the army or the ICC

What is solid

  • Two officials of the National Congress Party told Reuters on Sunday that the Sudanese army has detained the party's chairman, Ahmed Haroun.
  • Haroun is wanted by the ICC under a 2007 warrant — 42 counts in total, covering alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur in 2003-04.
  • On Saturday, a day before the reported detention, Haroun said in a televised podcast that his party and the army were united against the RSF though not politically aligned.

What is only claimed

  • Where, when exactly and why the army detained him: the Reuters report does not say, and there was no immediate comment from the Sudanese army or the ICC.
  • What happens to Haroun next — surrender to the ICC, a domestic case, or release — is unknown; any claim about the army's motive is speculation at this stage.

What happens next

The first test is an official word: a statement from the Sudanese army confirming the detention and its grounds, and any reaction from the ICC, which has sought Haroun for 19 years. If Khartoum's army-aligned authorities move to surrender him to The Hague, it would be the most significant Darfur accountability step since the Kushayb conviction — but nothing in Sunday's reporting confirms that step has been taken. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as official statements arrive.