Sudan ruler sacks Khartoum envoy to Washington

Sudan's ruling military council said Sunday it had decided to sack Khartoum's envoy to Washington, Mohamed Ata, a former chief of the feared National Intelligence and Security Service. AFP PHOTO

Sudan's ruling military council on Sunday said it had sacked Khartoum's top envoy to Washington days after the army ouster of veteran leader Omar al-Bashir.
The military council has decided to sack Sudan's charge d'affaires to Washington, Mohamed Atta, the council's spokesman Lieutenant General Shamseddine Kabbashi told reporters.

Atta, a former chief of the feared National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), was appointed in July 2018 at a time when relations between the two countries had entered a new phase after the United States lifted decades of sanctions imposed on Sudan.
He had been part of the team that negotiated the lifting of trade embargo in October 2017.

The US imposed sanctions on Khartoum in 1997 over its alleged support to Islamist militants. Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden lived in Sudan between 1992 to 1996.
Under Atta, NISS had stepped up its overall crackdown on opposition activists and anti-government media coverage.
He was replaced as NISS chief by Salih Ghosh, who himself resigned after long-time leader Omar al-Bashir was ousted on Thursday.
On Sunday, the military council appointed Abu Baker Mustafa as chief of NISS.