KHARTOUM: Sudan arrested Islamist opposition leader Hassan Al-Turabi and at least four other members of his party on Monday after an attack by Darfur rebels on the capital, which has led to the rupture of ties between Sudan and neighboring Chad.
“Security forces came to our house this morning and arrested my husband Beshir [Adam Rahma], his wife Israa Mohammed Al-Beshir told AFP.
“We know they have also detained Hassan Al-Turabi and at least three other senior members of the party. There could be more, she said.
“Security forces gave no reasons for the arrest but some are saying that they were involved in what happened in Khartoum.
The arrests of the Popular Congress members follow an attack on the capital on Saturday by Darfur rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the first time regional rebels have ever brought decades of violence so close to the seat of Sudanese power.
One of an array of rebel groups fighting government forces in Darfur, the JEM shares the Islamist ideology of Turabi, although both he and the rebels have always denied any links with each other.
During a political career spanning some four decades, Turabi has been in and out of custody.
A friend-turned-foe of President Omar Al-Beshir, most recently Turabi spent nearly 15 months in detention after an alleged coup plot against the regime before being freed in June 2005.
Saturday s attack, which saw rebel fighters in the streets of the capital s twin city of Omdurman just across the river Nile, led Sudan to sever diplomatic ties with Chad, which it accused of backing the rebel assault.
We are forced to sever diplomatic relations with this regime, President Beshir said on state television. We place the entire responsibility for this attack on Chad.
Chad said it regretted Khartoum s decision, denied any involvement in the attack and condemned a raid on the Chadian embassy. Chad can only take note of this hasty decision with regret, the government said in a statement.
The Sudanese government said it had repulsed the assault by JEM fighters, which saw the rebels reach Khartoum s outskirts.
But an Omdurman resident told AFP by telephone that a curfew imposed on Saturday remained in place and that soldiers were heavily deployed on the city s streets amid sporadic shooting.
Right now there is shooting in the street, he said, adding that despite the curfew some civilians were out on the streets.
JEM s deputy chief of staff Suleiman Sandal said he was still in Omdurman.
Now I am in Omdurman, he told AFP by telephone. We finished our target and just now I have troops there in Omdurman.
It is very easy to come to Khartoum and attack Omdurman and take over the power of the (ruling) National Congress, party, he said.
Why did they arrest him? Sandal said of Turabi. He doesn t have any relation with our movement. He s a civilian leading a civilian (political party) .
The official SUNA news agency said the Sudanese military had killed a leading JEM commander, had chased down, fought and wiped out a 45-man rebel force 50 km from Omdurman and arrested 300 rebels.
A senior official in the military command told the state SUNA news agency that 250 million pounds ($123 million) would be paid to anyone who captures JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim or provides information on his whereabouts.
Sudan s foreign ministry said it had evidence of communication between the rebels, the Chad government and the Chadian embassy in Khartoum. He said five or six Chadian diplomats were expected to leave.
An emergency cabinet meeting on Sunday reviewed reports from the defence and interior ministries which explained that fifth columnists from inside were involved in the sabotage attempt, SUNA reported. -AFP
