Sudanese Defence Minister Lieutenant General Jamal al-Din Omar died of an unspecified illness on Wednesday while in neighbouring South Sudan for peace talks with his country’s main rebel groups, the military announced.
Mr. Omar had “suffered from a number of chronic illnesses,” armed forces spokesman Amer Mohamed al-Hassan said without elaborating.
The government delegation in the South Sudanese capital Juba said Mr. Omar died at 2:30 a.m. (2330 GMT on Tuesday) “after a sudden heart attack during the performance of his sacred duty”.
Born in 1960, Mr. Omar was named Defence Minister after the armed forces toppled veteran President Omar Bashir in a palace coup last April following months of nationwide protests.
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Before becoming Minister, he headed the security and defence committee. Before Bashir was overthrown, he served as head of military intelligence.
Since October, Sudan’s transitional government has been locked in talks with rebel groups that fought Bashir’s regime.
