Sudanese constitution to be amended to grant more powers to security services: official

April 30, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese constitution will be amended to grant the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) more powers, an official here said today.

Earlier this year, lawmakers approved several constitutional amendments introduced by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) including one that allowed NISS to have an army of its own.

The move which drew fierce rebuke from opposition parties on the grounds that it undermines the role of the army and defeats the purpose of the agency which is tasked mainly with collecting intelligence and analyzing it.

The speaker of the Sudanese parliament Al-Fatih Izz al-Din has pledged to pass laws and amend the constitution again so that the NISS can better perform its tasks.

“We will work to amend the constitution to provide a legal umbrella to the security forces that would allow them to move forward with their heads high to defend their country,” Izz al-Din said in remarks an an NISS event in Khartoum.

He told NISS officers to ignore those who say that the agency is abusing its powers and to carry out their duties as they see fit without paying attention to critics.

The speaker also disclosed that the parliament will enact legislation to punish citizens who direct insults at Sudan in international forums.

“They will be punished by law and would be deprived from being buried in this country,” Izz al-Din said without offering details.

The NISS director Mohamed Atta on his end vowed to crush the rebels and hailed the recent victory achieved on Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) forces in South Darfur.

Sudanese government forces said they crushed a large scale attack including nearly 400 rebel vehicles that crossed from South Sudan.

On Tuesday, the Sudanese president visited his troops in South Darfur and praised the role of NISS armed wing known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the operation.

(ST)