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Vol 50 No 17

Published 28th August 2009


Sudan

A return ticket for security chief Salah Gosh

The 13 August move of Lieutenant General Salah Abdullah Mohamed 'Gosh' from Director of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) to Presidential Security Advisor comes at a critical time for the National Congress Party (aka National Islamic Front) regime. President Omer el Beshir is fending off arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court and the party's leading tacticians are determined to secure total victory in national elections and a referendum on the future of the South, both due in the next two years.

In the eyes of Western intelligence agencies, Salah Gosh was an important figure to cultivate. He was, according to British, French and United States officials, a source of valuable intelligence about terrorist cells planning to attack Western targets. This Western view of Gosh was based partly on his role as liaison officer to Usama bin Laden when the Al Qaida leader lived in Khartoum in the early 1990s and more generally because of his active role in Islamist politics in Sudan and the region (AC Vol 50 No 13).

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