Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to
ArabizeDarfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it.
on Sunday ordered land and river border crossings with South Sudan reopened, official radio said, after agreements eased long-running tensions between the neighbours. Bashir "ordered the opening of all the highway or river gates on the border," Radio Omdurman said in a brief alert sent by text message. It said Bashir made the request after a meeting with Sudan's new ambassador to South Sudan.