Sudan permits free movement for foreigners

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Sep 20, 2003 (AP) — The government has decided to permit foreigners to move freely around the country from next month, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said Saturday.

However, their movement will still be restricted in areas of military activity, the minister told reporters, referring to the 20-year-old civil war.

“This is to ensure the safety of the foreigner,” the minister added.

Many embassies, international aid organizations, foreign investors, journalists and tourists had complained of the difficulty in obtaining permission to move from one city to another in Sudan, Ismail said.

“We think we are in a stage where we can remove many of these restrictions and apply a policy where freedom of movement is the norm, and restrictions are the exception,” he said.

The government is currently engaged in negotiations with the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army. Both sides have said the talks in Naivasha, Kenya, are progressing well. On Thursday, Ismail said he expected a final agreement within days.

The two sides signed an interim accord last year, which helped to reduce fighting but did not eliminate it.

The war has pitted rebels from the south, whose people are mostly animist and Christian, against the government in the predominantly Arab and Muslim north. The conflict is fueled by competition for oil, land and other resources.