===
Republic of Sudan (1956–1969) === Upon Sudan's independence in 1956, the country inherited colonial-era security structures. The '''Police's Special Branch
, an intelligence division of the police under the Ministry of Interior, continued to handle internal security and surveillance. The armed forces maintained a relatively small military intelligence unit primarily focused on the ongoing southern insurgency and military affairs. The regime relied on these organisations to monitor political opponents (e.g. communists and trade unionists) and manage unrest, but the intelligence apparatus was not yet as pervasive or separate as it would later become. Following a Communist-backed coup attempt in 1971, the regime created distinct security organisations: in late 1969, the National Security Organisation
(NSO''') was formed out of the army's intelligence branch, and the
General Security Organisation (
GSO) was carved out of the police's intelligence. By 1973, the GSO was removed from police control and placed under direct executive authority, wielding broad powers of search, arrest, and detention. This dual structure, military NSO and civilian GSO, gave Nimeiry's government an extensive reach in internal surveillance and counter-intelligence. and it grew into a vast apparatus with about 45,000 personnel, rivaling the regular armed forces in size. The NISS was officially codified by the National Security Forces Act of 1999, which not only ratified its existence but also perpetuated its exceptional powers and lack of oversight. A subsequent National Security Act in 2010 (during an interim peace period) retained these broad powers, despite calls to curtail the agency's mandate. By law, NISS officers had powers of arrest, search, seizure, and could detain individuals for prolonged periods in the name of "national security". Throughout Bashir's 30-year rule, NISS emerged as the most powerful arm of the regime, eclipsing the military's own intelligence wing in domestic matters. NISS effectively functioned as Sudan's
secret police, tasked with silencing political opposition and rebellion. It conducted widespread domestic surveillance, censored media, and ran a network of detention centers known for torturing regime opponents (infamous "ghost houses"). As international pressure grew over
Darfur genocide, NISS simultaneously positioned itself as a global intelligence player, for instance, Gosh cultivated ties with the
CIA by sharing valuable intelligence on
al-Qaeda and other Islamists (Sudan had hosted
Osama bin Laden in the 1990s, and Sudanese
mukhabarat had amassed detailed files on his network. The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ("
Hemedti"), was deployed as an internal shock force in conflict zones (
Darfur,
South Kordofan,
Blue Nile) and as a praetorian guard for al-Bashir. he was regarded as the regime's most feared enforcer. Under Gosh, NISS orchestrated crackdowns on civil society and engineered ruthless responses to protests, such as using live ammunition on
demonstrators in 2018–19. including Gosh, who was replaced by Lt. Gen. Abu Bakr Mustafa, on 14 April 2019. After the coup, Sudan's new
Transitional Military Council (TMC), the
de facto executive power in Sudan,moved swiftly to reorganise the intelligence apparatus. Responding to protesters' demands to dismantle the "deep state" of the old regime, the TMC dissolved the NISS and announced the formation of a rebranded agency, the
General Intelligence Service (
GIS) in July 2019. Official reasons cited for the name rebranding included "[coping] with the political change in the country" and "[becoming] more professional in protecting the country and safeguarding its national security against very complicated threats". The GIS was essentially the successor to NISS, but with promises (on paper) of reform, including a stated focus on information gathering rather than political repression. The notorious Operations Division of NISS, which had been responsible for much of the heavy-handed internal security operations, was slated for disbandment. NISS personnel were given options to retire or to be absorbed into the regular army or the RSF.) remained dominated by the military establishment. The agency continued to conduct internal intelligence and counter-intelligence, though with somewhat lower profile during the transition. It still monitored political activities and maintained surveillance on potential saboteurs, while pledging to respect the law more than its predecessor. Notably, inter-service dynamics persisted: the RSF, now an officially recognised force, developed its own intelligence wing and often acted independently, while the army's Military Intelligence Department regained a central role in shaping security policy following al-Bashir's fall.
2021 coup and civil war On 25 October 2021, Sudan's military, led by Gen.
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF chief Hemedti, staged a
coup that ended the civilian-led transition. This put the intelligence apparatus fully back under military control. The GIS under al-Burhan's rule has reportedly resumed some of the practices of NISS, including detention of leaders of the
resistance committees and other protest leaders, and surveillance of activists. The RSF, initially a partner to the military during the coup, later became a rival. On 15 April 2023,
fighting erupted between the RSF and the
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). This schism within Sudan's security organs is rooted partly in al-Bashir-era fragmentation. == Military Intelligence Directorate ==