One policeman killed by southeren attackers in Khartoum

Nov 25, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — A Sudanese policeman was killed and three wounded when armed men “from southern Sudan” attacked their station south of the capital Khartoum, police said Saturday.

A police statement said the armed men set off handmade explosives at the Azhari police station on Friday with the aim of freeing detainees who had been held by police following a street fight.

The statement did not indicate if the detainees were freed during the clashes.

The latest attack highlights tensions between authorities and southern Sudanese who fled to Khartoum from a decades-long civil war between north and south.

They often live in crammed and unsanitary conditions in some neighbourhoods of Khartoum.

Sudanese authorities and the United Nations are working for their voluntary repatriation.

On November 17, five Sudanese policemen were shot dead by unidentified gunmen south of Khartoum.

The five had been patrolling in the Jabal Awliaa area, 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of the city, when they were attacked by an armed group.

Press reports indicated that the attack was revenge for the death of a southerner who died several days earlier during a police operation.

(AFP)