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Profile: Sudan's Ex-Intelligence Chief Salah Gosh

Salah Gosh, Arabic Website
Salah Gosh, Arabic Website
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Profile: Sudan's Ex-Intelligence Chief Salah Gosh

Salah Gosh, Arabic Website
Salah Gosh, Arabic Website

Sudan has finally succeeded in replacing its notorious intelligence Chief Salah Abdallah Mohamed Saleh, also known as Salah Gosh. During his tenure, the government body not only held a bad reputation but also was accused of orchestrating oppressive sweeps and violence against the people.

Gosh, who resigned two days ago, had buckled under the pressure of civil protests that marched for the removal of all stalwarts that served the former regime of the deposed Omar al-Bashir.

Among the host of accusations the former intelligence chief is condemned for by the public are; his spearheading of oppressive operations against demonstrators since December 19th and systematic killings targeting activists over the course of the last four months.

Gosh is believed to also have been plotting, with the help of his CIA connections, to become Sudan’s next president.

Born in 1957 in a far-off north Sudan town, Gosh grew up to graduate from the Faculty of Engineering at Khartoum University, where he participated in political activity linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

After graduating, Gosh pursued an intelligence career with the Nationalist Islamic Front, led by longtime hard-line ideological leader Hassan Al-Turabi. After a military junta took over the African country in 1989, Gosh officially joined national intelligence apparatuses.

Despite moving up the hierarchy, getting himself appointed as head of operations, Gosh’s career received a serious blow after he was caught plotting to assassinate, then Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak.

The intelligence strongman is also suspected of having close relations with former al-Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, whose records show he had a years-long stay in Khartoum until 1998.

In a surprise announcement in 2009, Bashir assigned Gosh as a presidential security advisor. However, his time in the former president’s trustees was short-lived.

About three years later, Gosh was arrested for plotting a coup alongside 13 other military and security top-shelf officials. After his release in 2013, he rejoined the parliament.

Gosh had also played a pivotal role in the dispute between al-Bashir and Turabi back in 1999, when he sided with Bashir.

The Bashir-Gosh partnering preceded the eventual downfall of Turabi.

Gosh's name emerged on the international scene during his close cooperation with the CIA for the handed overall-Qaeda-related information.

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From Sudan to Myanmar… Five Forgotten Conflicts of 2024

Soldiers from the Armed Forces of the DRC dig trenches at a frontline military position above the town of Kibirizi, controlled by the M23 rebellion, North Kivu province, eastern DR Congo, on May 14, 2024 (AFP)
Soldiers from the Armed Forces of the DRC dig trenches at a frontline military position above the town of Kibirizi, controlled by the M23 rebellion, North Kivu province, eastern DR Congo, on May 14, 2024 (AFP)
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From Sudan to Myanmar… Five Forgotten Conflicts of 2024

Soldiers from the Armed Forces of the DRC dig trenches at a frontline military position above the town of Kibirizi, controlled by the M23 rebellion, North Kivu province, eastern DR Congo, on May 14, 2024 (AFP)
Soldiers from the Armed Forces of the DRC dig trenches at a frontline military position above the town of Kibirizi, controlled by the M23 rebellion, North Kivu province, eastern DR Congo, on May 14, 2024 (AFP)

In addition to the two wars in the Mideast and Ukraine-Russia that have dominated world headlines in 2024, several other conflicts are ravaging countries and regions, AFP revealed in a report on Wednesday.

Sudan

War has raged in Sudan since April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The conflict, considered by the UN as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, has left between 20,000 and 150,000 thousands dead and some 26 million people -- around half of Sudan's population -- facing severe food insecurity.

Also, escalating violence has pushed the humanitarian crisis to unprecedented levels, with displacement now exceeding 11 million people.

Both sides have been accused of war crimes, including targeting civilians and blocking humanitarian aid.

In October the UN alerted the “staggering scale” of sexual violence rampant since the start of the conflict.

Democratic Republic of Congo

The mineral-rich region of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, home to a string of rival rebel groups, has endured internal and cross-border violence for over 30 years.

Since launching an offensive in 2021, a largely Tutsi militia known as the March 23 movement or M23 -- named after a previous peace agreement -- has seized large swathes of territory.

The resurgence of M23 has intensified a decades-long humanitarian disaster in the region caused by conflicts, epidemics and poverty, notably in the province of North Kivu.

In early August, Angola mediated a fragile truce that stabilized the situation at the front line.

But since the end of October, the M23 has been on the march again, and continues to carry out localized offensives.

Despite violations of the ceasefire, the DRC and Rwanda are maintaining diplomatic dialogue through Angola's mediation.

Early in November, the two central African neighbors launched a committee to monitor ceasefire violations, led by Angola and including representatives from both the DRC and Rwanda.

Sahel

In Africa's volatile Sahel region, Islamist groups, rebel outfits and armed gangs rule the roost.

In Nigeria in 2009 Boko Haram, one of the main militant organizations in the Sahel region, launched an insurgency that left more than 40,000 people dead and displaced two million.

Boko Haram has since spread to neighboring countries in West Africa.

For example, the vast expanse of water and swamps in the Lake Chad region's countless islets serve as hideouts for Boko Haram and its offshoot ISIS in West Africa (ISWAP), who carry out regular attacks on the country's army and civilians.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger also face persistent militant attacks, while any opposition to the military-led governments is repressed.

Since January, extremist attacks have caused nearly 7,000 civilian and military deaths in Burkina Faso, more than 1,500 in Niger and more than 3,600 in Mali, according to Acled -- an NGO which collects data on violent conflict.

Haiti

The situation in Haiti, already dire after decades of chronic political instability, escalated further at the end of February when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in the capital, saying they wanted to overthrow then-prime minister Ariel Henry.

Since then, gangs now control 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince and despite a Kenyan-led police support mission, backed by the US and UN, violence has continued to soar.

In November the UN said the verified casualty toll of the gang violence so far this year was 4,544 dead and the real toll, it stressed, “is likely higher still.”

Particularly violent acts target women and girls, and victims have been mutilated with machetes, stoned, decapitated, burned or buried alive.

More than 700,000 people have fled the horror, half of them children, according to the International Organization for Migration.

A Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission for Haiti, backed by the United Nations Security Council and Washington, began deployment this summer.

Myanmar

The Southeast Asian nation has been gripped in a bloody conflict since 2021 when the military ousted the democratically elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi, who has been detained by the junta since the coup.

A bitter civil war has followed causing the death of more than 5,300 people and the displacement of some 3.3 million, according to the UN.

The military has faced growing resistance from rebel groups across the country.

In recent months, rebels attacked Mandalay, the country's second-largest city, and took control of the key road linking Myanmar with China -- its main trading partner -- and in doing so deprived the junta of a key source of revenue.