Al-Bashir replaces his spy chief

KHARTOUM, Friday

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has replaced his security and intelligence chief Salah Gosh, who has been accused by a Western rights group of having a role in abuses in the western region of Darfur.

The official SUNA news agency, which reported the move late on Thursday, did not give a reason for moving Mr Gosh, viewed as an influential figure in Sudanese politics for many years.

SUNA said Mr Gosh would move to be an adviser to the president.

The US-based Human Rights Watch has accused Sudan’s security body of abuses and has called for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Mr Gosh’s role in the Sudanese government’s attempts to quash rebels in the Darfur region.

Armed tribes

Mr Bashir has been indicted by the ICC over crimes in Darfur, where rebels took up arms against the government in 2003, saying the region was being neglected.

The report said that Mr Mohammed Atta al-Moula, now the deputy and director for national security and intelligence, would replace him.

In a rare interview with Reuters in 2004, Mr Gosh said the government had armed tribes against Darfur’s rebels. He said human rights violations had taken place but promised to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Estimates of the death count in Darfur since fighting started range from 10,000, according to Khartoum, to 300,000, according to the United Nations. (Reuters)