Sudan Islamist says Khartoum attack sign of 'collapsed authority'

KHARTOUM, June 26, 2008 (AFP) - An unprecedented attack on Khartoum last month and the government reaction that followed shows that the regime has lost its authority, Sudanese Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi told AFP. Turabi, who heads the Popular Congress Party, was himself briefly arrested along with hundreds of others in connection with the raid by Darfur rebels on Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman which left more than 200 people dead. "It shows they were in shock, they were shaken, their authority collapsed," Turabi said. "It shows that anyone can carry a gun and go wherever he likes, take a place, take the capital," he said. "Unfortunately, it's very dangerous for the country." The assault by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the most powerful of the rebel groups in Darfur, saw them reach Omdurman on... [read full story]