Sudan Appoints New Director of General Intelligence

 Sudanese protesters against the military rule in Omdurman. (AFP)
Sudanese protesters against the military rule in Omdurman. (AFP)
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Sudan Appoints New Director of General Intelligence

 Sudanese protesters against the military rule in Omdurman. (AFP)
Sudanese protesters against the military rule in Omdurman. (AFP)

Sudans’s sovereign council has appointed Ahmed Mufaddal, formerly deputy director, as the new director of the general intelligence service, official sources told Reuters on Saturday.

This came as Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok Prime Minister said Saturday he has replaced the country’s police chiefs after at least 42 people were killed in a crackdown on protests following October’s military coup.

Military chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power and detained Hamdok on October 25, but after international condemnation and mass protests he reinstated the premier in a November 21 deal.

Hamdok said he had sacked the director general of the police, Khaled Mahdi Ibrahim al-Emam, and his deputy Ali Ibrahim.

In their place, he appointed Anan Hamed Mohamed Omar with Abdelrahman Nasreddine Abdallah as his deputy, the premier said in a statement.

Medics have accused security forces of targeting protesters in the "head, neck and torso" with live ammunition, as well as with rubber-coated bullets and tear gas canisters.

The police have denied reports they opened fire using live bullets.

Dozens of political activists, journalists, protesters and bystanders watching the rallies have been arrested in recent weeks, and remain in custody.

Hamdok has recently stressed he partnered with the military in order to “stop the bloodshed”.



US to Withdraw 600 Troops from Syria, Leaving Fewer than 1,000 to Help Counter ISIS Militants

The US troops have been critical not only in the operations against the ISIS group but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Türkiye, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups. File. | Photo Credit: AP
The US troops have been critical not only in the operations against the ISIS group but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Türkiye, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups. File. | Photo Credit: AP
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US to Withdraw 600 Troops from Syria, Leaving Fewer than 1,000 to Help Counter ISIS Militants

The US troops have been critical not only in the operations against the ISIS group but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Türkiye, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups. File. | Photo Credit: AP
The US troops have been critical not only in the operations against the ISIS group but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Türkiye, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups. File. | Photo Credit: AP

The US will withdraw about 600 troops from Syria, leaving fewer than 1,000 to work with Kurdish allies to counter the ISIS group, a US official said Thursday.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet announced publicly.
The US troops have been critical not only in the operations against ISIS but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Türkiye, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups.
President Donald Trump tried to withdraw all forces from Syria during his first term, but he met opposition from the Pentagon because it was seen as abandoning allies and led to the resignation of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
The departure of the 600 troops will return force levels to where they had been for years, after the US and its allies waged a multiyear campaign to defeat ISIS. The US had maintained about 900 troops in Syria to ensure that the ISIS militants did not regain a foothold, but also as a hedge to prevent Iranian-backed militants from trafficking weapons across southern Syria.
The number of US troops was raised to more than 2,000 after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in Israel, as Iranian-backed militants targeted US troops and interests in the region in response to Israel's bombardment of Gaza.
Three US troops in Jordan were killed by a drone fired by an Iranian-backed militia in January 2024.
In December 2024, Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country. In the months since, Syrians displaced by more than a decade of war have returned home, but the country remains unstable. Israel has targeted Syrian weapons installations, and there are some indications that the ISIS group is trying to reconstitute itself, and Iranian-backed militias in Syria remain a threat to US interests.
The withdrawal of the 600 troops was first reported by The New York Times.