Reported opposition arrests in Khartoum

Reports from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, say police have raided a private meeting of the opposition Popular National Congress party led by Mr Hasan al-Turabi.

Mr al-Turabi's deputy, Ali Haj Mohammad, told the BBC the police broke down the doors and smashed the windows of the house where the meeting was taking place and arrested about sixty people.

He said Mr al-Turabi was present at the meeting, but was not arrested.

There has been no comment so far from the Sudanese authorities. The reported police action comes two days after the Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, extended for a further year the state of emergency he imposed in November 1999 in the middle of a power struggle with Mr al-Turabi, a former ally.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service