Police in Sudan are reported to have arrested dozens of southern Sudanese living in the capital, Khartoum, accusing them of breaking Islamic law by drinking alcohol.
Some of the detained southerners -- who include a number of prominent members of the southern community -- denied they were drinking but said they had been dancing.
A BBC reporter in Khartoum say he visited at least sixty southerners being held in detention.
He said many complained they'd been beaten during the arrests, and that some had broken limbs.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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