Life returns to normal in Sudan’s capital after tension

   KHARTOUM, Jan. 15 -- Life returned to normal in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Wednesday following a tensed day in the wake of rebellion by a security force belonging to the General Intelligence Service (GIS).
   Early Wednesday, the Sudanese army announced retaking of the GIS's buildings which were seized by a rebellious security force on Tuesday.
   "After peaceful attempts with the rebel force have failed, least possible force had be used to end this rebellion," Mohamed Osman Al-Hussein, Sudanese army's chief of joint staff, told a press conference.
   He announced that two army soldiers were killed and four others injured, including two officers, during an operation for retaking the seized buildings.
   "All headquarters of the GIS's Operations Authority are under control of the armed forces," Chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said at a press conference.
   Al-Burhan further announced the opening of airspace at Khartoum International Airport, which was closed by authorities for five hours as a precautionary measure.
   On Tuesday, headquarters of the GIS's Operations Authority witnessed heavy gunfire in Khartoum, an incident that al-Burhan described as "a conspiracy against the revolution of the Sudanese people."
   He stressed that the Sudanese armed forces are determined to confront any attempt to destabilize the security.
   Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, speaking at a press conference in Khartoum on Wednesday, commended the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces for ending the rebellion.
   Tuesday's heavy gunfire incidents sparked fear among the citizens of central Khartoum and the areas of the GIS's headquarters.
   Deputy Chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Daqlu accused former security chief Salah Abdallah of being behind the gunfire around the GIS's buildings.
   "What happened is a plot carried out by Salah Abdallah and a number of officers," Daqlu said in a statement issued by the sovereign council.
   Daqlu further blamed the GIS's command for the incidents, saying "the situation is under the control of the armed forces."
   Meanwhile, the Freedom and Change Alliance, which led the protests against the former government, regarded Tuesday's events as a move by the counter-revolution forces with the aim to cripple the transitional period.
   The former Transitional Military Council in August dissolved the GIS's Operations Authority. An estimated 13,000 dismissed ex-employees were asked whether to join the army or the Rapid Support Forces or be discharged and get end-of-service rewards.
   The majority opted for the latter, and some refused to hand over their weapons until they get the rewards. Xinhau