A mass grave holding the remains of 28 army officers accused of executing an abortive coup against former president Omar al-Bashir thirty years ago has been discovered, according to the new authorities in Sudan.According to a statement by the attorney general the site is being secured by security forces as investigations got underway to uncover the exact circumstances leading up to the mass grave.

Bashir had crushed a military revolt which morphed into an abortive coup in 1990 with some of its architects reportedly killed after they were rounded up.

He had been in power for a year after successfully launching his own coup in 1989.

The 76-year-old who went on to rule Sudan until he was forced out by military officers last year, faces charges of treason over his 1989 coup with the possibility of facing the death penalty if convicted.

The International Criminal Court indicted Bashir in 2009 over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s restive Darfur region.

The new authorities in Sudan say he is unlikely to be handed over to the ICC given the competence of their courts to try the ex military leader.