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 Saturday ordered a halt to the flow of oil from South Sudan, less than two months after southern crude began moving again, official radio said.
"Bashir ordered the minister of oil to stop the flow of South Sudanese oil from tomorrow, Sunday," Radio Omdurman reported in an SMS message which gave no further details.
The official SUNA news agency issued a similar report, saying Bashir called for the oil pipeline to be "shut down" from Sunday.
The oil, which has not yet reached Sudan's Red Sea export terminal, would be worth billions of dollars in revenue to both impoverished nations if exports resumed.
Bashir had warned on May 27 that he would block the oil if the South's government provides assistance to rebels fighting in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, or in the Darfur region.
Bashir threatened to "completely close the pipeline".
Juba denies supporting the rebels.
South Sudan held a ceremony in early April to restart oil production following a closure of more than a year after accusing Khartoum of theft in a row over export fees.
China was the biggest buyer of the oil.