Sudan's Omar al-Bashir: Key dates

Sudan’s former president Omar al-Bashir.

Sudan’s former president Omar al-Bashir. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

What you need to know:

  • A soldier from a young age, Bashir fought alongside the Egyptian army in the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur war in 1973.
  • As brigade commander, he seized power in 1989 in an Islamist-backed coup against the democratically elected government.

Key dates in the life of Sudan's deposed dictator Omar al-Bashir, who is to be handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over war crimes in Darfur.

January 1, 1944: Born to a farming family in the village of Hosh Bannaga, north of Khartoum.

1973: A soldier from a young age, Bashir fights alongside the Egyptian army in the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur war.

June 30, 1989: As brigade commander, seizes power in an Islamist-backed coup against the democratically elected government. 

2003: Sends troops and militia to crush a rebellion in the western region of Darfur. The conflict claims more than 300,000 lives, according to the United Nations.

2009: The ICC issues a warrant for his arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. The following year it issues a warrant over alleged genocide. He denies the charges.

2010: Elected president in the first multiparty vote since he took power, boycotted by the opposition. Re-elected in 2015.

2011: South Sudan wins independence from Khartoum, which loses three-quarters of its oil reserves.

2013: Deadly demonstrations against Bashir's government erupt after a petrol price hike.

April 11, 2019: After four months of protests demanding that he quit, Bashir is ousted by the military and detained.

December 14, 2019: Convicted of graft and ordered to serve two years in a correctional centre. Sudan also begins a probe into him for crimes in Darfur.

July 21, 2020: Goes on trial for his role in the 1989 coup that brought him to power.

August 11, 2021: Sudan says it will hand Bashir over to the ICC to face trial over Darfur.