Sudanese rebel leader detained in the Emirates

By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer

CAIRO, Egypt, Sep 24, 2004 (AP) — The leader of a small Sudanese rebel group was arrested in the United Arab Emirates Friday upon arriving on a flight from Egypt, a Sudanese opposition official said.

Abdel-Aziz Khaled, head of the northern opposition group Sudan Alliance Forces, was arrested upon arrival at the airport in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, the official said in Cairo.

No explanation was given for the arrest, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. There was no immediate confirmation of the arrest from officials in the Emirates because of the weekend.

Khaled is a former Sudanese army general who has been living in Egypt for the past few months. His Sudan Alliance Forces is a member of the Sudanese opposition umbrella group the National Democratic Alliance, a largely northern grouping made up of 14 political parties, trade union representatives and rebel armies.

The NDA, which has its headquarters in Eritrea, also includes the main southern rebel group, the Sudan’s People Liberation Army.

The Sudan Alliance Forces was responsible for a number of attacks on oil pipelines and government forces in the 1990s and carried out strikes against the government in the eastern front. In 2002, the SAF merged with the southern SPLA group.

Hatem al-Sir Ali, an NDA official, told the Al-Jazeera pan-Arab satellite station from London Friday that the group was “surprised” by the arrest.

Ali said Khaled was no longer a member in the leadership board of the NDA “because of some problems and troubles inside the group he heads.”

Khaled is still an observer within the NDA. The NDA — formed after the 1989 coup that brought Omar el-Bashir to power — has recently engaged in a dialogue with the government.

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On the Net:

National Democratic Alliance: http://www.ndasudan.org