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Shootings Underscore Fragile Transition in Sudan

Jason Patinkin

   Gunfire as heard again in the Sudanese capital Khartoum Tuesday, as a
   dispute between different factions of the country's armed forces laid
   bare the fragility of the country's transition from military rule.

   Transitional government spokesperson Faisal Mohamed Salih blamed the
   unrest on the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), a
   shadowy armed group that was loyal to former President Omar al-Bashir,
   who was overthrown in a coup last April following months of street
   protests.

   NISS has been sidelined since the former president's overthrow, as
   Sudan's regular army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support
   Forces have become the country's most powerful armed groups. Both the
   army and the RSF are commanded by members of the ruling transitional
   government.

   Salih said shooting took place in Kafuri neighborhood in Khartoum
   North, Soba area near the U.S. Embassy, and in Riyadh east of the
   airport. Another small protest by NISS members took place in El Obeid
   town in the country's Kordofan region, Salih said.

   Reports said that the unrest began when soldiers being dismissed from
   NISS' Operations Division fired their weapons in the air in a dispute
   over payment of their severance. Many NISS soldiers have chosen to be
   dismissed with a severance as the country's armed forces restructure in
   the transition from military rule following Bashir's ouster.

   Government officials say negotiations began to quell the unrest.

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