From Voice Of America

Former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir has been taken to a prison in the capital, five days after the military removed him from power and put him under house arrest.

Relatives of the ousted president say Bashir, 75, was moved to Khartoum’s Kobar prison on Tuesday and is being held under tight security.

He has not been seen in public since the army toppled him in a coup last Thursday, following months of street protests triggered by escalating prices for food and fuel.

Thousands of demonstrators remain outside army headquarters in Khartoum, pressing their demands for a civilian-led transitional government. Coup leaders said last week a military-run council will rule the country for two years. The African Union and several Western countries have called for a fast transition to civilian leadership and elections.

Meanwhile, a rebel group in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile says it will cease hostilities until July 31. Rebel leader Abdelaziz Adam al-Helew says the move is to help facilitate the transfer to civilian leaders in Sudan.

Bashir seized power in a June 1989 military coup and led the country with an iron fist for 30 years before his ouster. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region.

The military council has said it will not extradite the president to the ICC.