Sudanese authorities yesterday referred dozens of intelligence officers to retirement.

A high-ranking official source told local media that the government had fired a total of 131 intelligence officers, “three of whom were lieutenant generals, 25 brigaders, 40 brigadier-generals, and 63 colonels.”

“Most of the retired officers were Islamists,” the source explained, adding that the move had come within a framework of “restructuring the intelligence apparatus, and purifying it from remnants of the former regime.”

Last year, Jamal Abdul Majeed was appointed by the Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council as the new intelligence chief after his predecessor, General Abu Bakr Dumblab resigned.

After months of protests, in April 2019 the Sudanese army detained ruler Omar Al-Bashir, ending his 30-year dictatorship. The ousted president has been charged with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters, he has also been summoned for questioning over his role in the 1989 military coup that brought him to power.