Dozens are arrested as Sudan regime gags its opposition leader

[T_i_B]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/04/09/wsudan09.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/04/09/ixportal.html

Sudan's regime moved against its foremost domestic opponent yesterday when Sadiq al-Mahdi, the last civilian prime minister, was banned from addressing political rallies and security forces raided his headquarters.

Dozens of officials working for Mr Mahdi's Umma party, Sudan's largest opposition movement, were arrested and Umma was barred from all political activity.

The steps taken against him are thought to be linked to his frequent criticism of President Omar al-Bashir's regime.

He publicly blamed the government's "misguided policies" for creating the crisis in Darfur, where a brutal conflict with black African rebels has killed at least 180,000 people and forced two million into squalid refugee camps. Moreover, Mr Mahdi called on the regime to abide by all United Nations resolutions on Darfur.