The World : 70 Sudan Dissidents Seized

Police have arrested 70 supporters of exiled Sudanese President Jaafar Numeiri in a political crackdown after Prime Minister Sadek Mahdi declared a state of emergency, Sudan’s official news agency reported. It said that Energy Minister Adam Musa Madibu announced the arrests, accusing the dissidents of “attempting to foil democracy.” No details or names were given. Numeiri was toppled by a military coup in 1985 and exiled to Egypt. Muslim fundamentalists charged that the emergency measures--expected to be approved by the National Assembly--are an effort to curb dissent in the troubled nation, which is undergoing economic problems and a civil war.