http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/22/us-sudan-sabotage-idUSBRE8AL0FV20121122
Sudan
says arrests ex-spy chief after foiled plot
By Ulf Laessing and Khalid Abdelaziz
KHARTOUM | Thu Nov 22, 2012 8:31am EST
(Reuters) - Sudan arrested its former spy chief and other senior military
and security officers on Thursday after foiling what officials said was a
plot to incite chaos and target leaders in this oil-producing African state.
Witnesses told Reuters they saw army tanks and armored vehicles moving down
a main street in the tightly-controlled centre of Khartoum around midnight,
but the city appeared normal by the morning.
Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has kept up a near 25-year hold on
power, even as a series of uprisings troubled the country's poor border
areas, including the conflict-torn region of Darfur.
But Sudan has been stuck in economic crisis since the south - the source of
most of its known oil-reserves - declared independence last year under the
terms of a peace deal.
High prices for food and other basics have added to widespread public anger
over losing the south and have emboldened opposition activists to call for
protests. Analysts say the crisis has also exacerbated divisions in the
government.
Unrest over price rises and food and fuel shortages has preceded coups to
overthrow the government in Sudan in the past.
Salah Gosh, former head of Sudan's powerful intelligence and security
agency, was arrested with others on suspicion of "inciting chaos",
"targeting" some leaders and spreading rumors about Bashir's health, the
information minister told reporters.
"Thirteen people were arrested," the minister, Ahmed Belal Osman, said.
"The situation is now totally stable."
TANKS HEADED DOWNTOWN
Witnesses said they saw military vehicles on a major street that runs
alongside the city's airport overnight.
"We saw something unusual in Khartoum ... four armored vehicles and two
tanks on Abeid Khatim Street heading in the direction of downtown," one
witness said, asking not to be named.
Sudan's security and intelligence agency "foiled a sabotage plot this
morning aimed at bringing about security disturbances in the country led by
figures from the opposition forces", the state-linked Sudanese Media Centre
reported earlier on Thursday.
Quoting a security source, the media centre said authorities arrested
"military and civilian figures" in connection with the plot.
Security at the defense ministry, intelligence headquarters and other
buildings associated with military and security authorities appeared normal
early in the morning, a Reuters witness in the city said.
Sudan has been plagued by political conflicts and crises for most of its
history since independence from Britain in 1956.
Decades of civil war between the north and south culminated with South
Sudan's independence in July last year under a 2005 peace deal.
Tensions in both nations and between the two states have been high since
then. The two countries accused one another of incursions in disputed
border zones on Wednesday, a setback to recent security and border deals.
Small demonstrations against cuts in fuel subsidies and other austerity
measures broke out across Sudan in June but petered out after a security
crackdown and the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
(Writing by Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Received on Thu Nov 22 2012 - 13:26:23 EST
