Islamists reject Sudan deal

Turabi has denied his party's involvement in a coup plot

Sudan's Islamist opposition party says it will stick by its jailed leader Hassan al-Turabi, accused of plotting a coup after Friday prayers last week.

Earlier, President Omar al-Bashir said members of Mr Turabi's Popular National Congress party could resume political activities if they condemned him.

A former ally of the president, the PNC leader has been in jail since March, accused of links to Darfur rebels.

Meanwhile, the authorities say they have found an arms cache near Khartoum.

Grenades, mortars, rifles and ammunition were seized, Interior Minister Major-General Abd-al-Rahim Muhammed Hussein told Sudanese radio.

'Confessions'

The BBC's Alfred Taban in Khartoum says that following all the talk of coup plots, Khartoum residents are becoming increasingly apprehensive.

The presence of well-armed military men on many roads in the capital is frightening people.

Some people claim to have been mishandled during the many searches being carried out by the armed forces, he says.

"It's not just a problem of Dr al-Turabi, it's actually a conflict about principles," El-Mahboub Abdul Salam told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

Mr Mahboub said the 300 Kalashnikovs seized by armed forces on Saturday did belong to the PNC, but they were not a recent acquisition and the government knew about their existence.

Fugitive

Our correspondent says that President Bashir's call appears to be aimed at causing a split in the opposition, following the departure of a senior member last week.

Mohammed El-Hassan El-Amin said he disapproved of the party's involvement in violence.

The PNC has always denied involvement in an alleged coup plot to topple the government of President Omar al-Bashir.

"We are against using weapons against the government," Mr Mahboub said, claiming the government was trying to deflect attention away from the crisis in Darfur.

Mr Mahboub said that although the PNC and rebel movements in Darfur shared the same ideology - the belief in the decentralisation of power and wealth - the PNC did not back their armed resistance.

On Friday, the interior ministry said the coup plotters had planned to strike at 1400 local time (1100 GMT) in the capital, Khartoum.

A statement said that those held confessed that they were about to "execute" the plan at the set time.

Mr Youssef - a leading PNC member - was identified as the leader of the alleged coup.

The statement also urged the people to help arrest the "fugitive criminal".