Former US envoy advised Sudanese military plotting to overthrow al-Bashir: report

January 10, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – The former U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan Princeton Lyman was in contact with Sudanese army high ranking officers who were preparing a coup d’état against President Omer al-Bashir, disclosed a story published by The Daily Beast.
The American website, which is known for publishing scoops, and stories about secret worlds, further said that Salah Gosh who was a presidential adviser for national security affairs had to meet him in Cairo in September 2012 to discuss matters related to the coup and relations with the United States but he didn’t show up for the meeting.

Days before his death in August 2018, Lyman disclosed the details of his contacts with Sudanese army officers who contacted him in early 2012 to know if ” the Americans would recognize a military takeover in Sudan, even though under U.S. law such recognition was illegal”.

The late diplomat said he was conscious that Washington would not change its policy even for the overthrow of an “indicted” president.

However, “he believed that the United States should engage with anyone seeking reform in Sudan, especially if the change could come with a minimum of chaos and carnage,” read the article.

Diplomats at the U.S. State Department are very concerned about political stability in Sudan because any instability could impact directly the several countries in the region.

Lyman had exchanged messages with the plot’s members for months to explain which language they should adopt and that they should be committed to democracy and to respect for human rights.

MEETING WITH GOSH

He disclosed that in September 2012 the plotters organized a meeting in Cairo between him and Salah Gosh who “was pulled into the plot at the late stages to give it a political face and he did not hatch the plan himself”.

“But Gosh never appeared for the meeting. Lyman returned home dejected, and did not communicate again with the group”.

Two months later, in November 2012, Gosh was detained and accused of taking part in a plot to destabilize the regime. Also, were arrested 13 senior military commanders who were close to President Omer Hassan al-Bashir including Brigadier Mohamed Ibrahim of the military intelligence and general Adil al-Tayeb.

The Daily Beast, however, didn’t develop on what Lyman thought about the relation between plotters and Gosh who nowadays heads the NISS for the second time.

In December 2012, the then Presidential Assistant, Nafei Ali Nafie accused Gosh of working for long time to prepare the plot.

Nafie was known for his animosity towards Gosh. However, in July 2013, al-Bashir issued a general amnesty for Gosh and dropped charges against him and his fellow officers.

In February 2018, he was reappointed again as a head of the NISS to clear the security and intelligence services from the men of Nafei Ali Nafie who was perceived as hostile to al-Bashir re-election for a third mandate in April 2020.

Source: Sudan Tribune