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Sudanese Islamist leader arrested
Sudan's authorities have arrested the opposition Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi over a possible plot to overthrow President Omar al-Bashir. A number of opposition politicians and army officers have also been detained. The politicians are thought to be supporters of Mr Turabi's Popular Congress Party. Mr Turabi has denied his party was involved in any plot.
The detained officials and officers are also being linked to the uprising in the western Darfur region. Mr Turabi's wife told Reuters news agency the security forces arrested her husband early on Wednesday. The PCP confirmed six senior officials were arrested on Sunday. Prior to his arrest, Mr Turabi denied that his party was involved in any alleged plot. He told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that there had been "tension within the army" but there had not been an attempt to overthrow the government. He said he felt the government was trying to aggravate the situation to prepare the ground for his arrest and to ban the PCP completely.
The opposition leader is a former ally of Mr Bashir, who came to power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989. Mr Turabi was previously detained in 2001 after a power struggle with Mr Bashir - and was released from house arrest in October last year. Al-Jazeera TV says 27 people have been arrested by the authorities over the possible plot.
| Prolly not a good idea to be arrested in Sudan. |
Posted by: Steve White 2004-03-31 |
