It was announced late on Wednesday evening that the leader of the Sudanese Umma Party, Sadiq al-Mahdi, had died at the age of 84.

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Sudan reported the death of the Mahdi, who was also the head of the Ansar group, and had previously assumed the leadership of the Sudanese government decades ago.

Family sources explained to Reuters that the Mahdi died in the UAE due to the emerging Corona virus.

The Umma Party announced earlier that the Mahdi had been transported by private plane to the UAE for further checks and to be reassured.

It is noteworthy that al-Sadiq al-Mahdi is a prominent politician, thinker and imam of the Ansar sect, one of the largest religious sects in the country.

Even in recent weeks, he was exercising his political and religious role, and categorically declared his rejection of normalization between Israel and Sudan.

Mahdi is considered the last democratically elected prime minister, and he was ousted in 1989 in the military coup that brought former President Omar al-Bashir to power.