The Sudanese president has replaced his head of security, state news agency SUNA reported, bringing back a senior official who helped launch a dialogue with the United States after the September 11 attacks in Washington and New York.
The agency said Salah Abdallah Mohamed Saleh, also known as Salah Gosh, who was head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) between 2004 and 2009, had been reinstated, replacing Mohammed Atta al-Moula, who served in the position since 2009.
Relations between Sudan and the United States have improved under President Donald Trump. Trump last year lifted long-standing sanctions against Sudan, saying it had made progress fighting terrorism and easing humanitarian distress, in a major turnaround for Bashir’s government.
He kept Sudan on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism – alongside Iran and Syria – which carries a ban on weapons sales and restrictions on US aid.
The news agency gave no reason for the shake-up at the security agency. Moula last week accompanied Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour to Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials on topics including security and water issues.
Gosh was detained in 2012 and held for several months on suspicion of “inciting chaos”, “targeting” some leaders and spreading rumours about President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s health, the information minister said at the time, but Gosh was released without going on trial.
He served as a security adviser to Bashir for two years prior to his arrest.
The New York Times reported in 2005 US intelligence officials allowed Gosh to visit the US for consultation with the CIA as a reward for his country’s co-operation in detaining suspected militants and providing information on al Qaeda following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
New Sudanese security chief
The Sudanese president has replaced his head of security, state news agency SUNA reported, bringing back a senior official who helped launch a dialogue with the United States after the September 11 attacks in Washington and New York.
The agency said Salah Abdallah Mohamed Saleh, also known as Salah Gosh, who was head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) between 2004 and 2009, had been reinstated, replacing Mohammed Atta al-Moula, who served in the position since 2009.
Relations between Sudan and the United States have improved under President Donald Trump. Trump last year lifted long-standing sanctions against Sudan, saying it had made progress fighting terrorism and easing humanitarian distress, in a major turnaround for Bashir’s government.
He kept Sudan on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism – alongside Iran and Syria – which carries a ban on weapons sales and restrictions on US aid.
The news agency gave no reason for the shake-up at the security agency. Moula last week accompanied Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour to Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials on topics including security and water issues.
Gosh was detained in 2012 and held for several months on suspicion of “inciting chaos”, “targeting” some leaders and spreading rumours about President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s health, the information minister said at the time, but Gosh was released without going on trial.
He served as a security adviser to Bashir for two years prior to his arrest.
The New York Times reported in 2005 US intelligence officials allowed Gosh to visit the US for consultation with the CIA as a reward for his country’s co-operation in detaining suspected militants and providing information on al Qaeda following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
