Sudanese Nation's Party calls for boycott of IGAD negotiations

Former Sudanese Prime Minister El-Sadiq El-Mahdi, the leader of the Sudanese nation's party, called on the National Democratic Assembly to take a decision to halt negotiations sponsored by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development between the Khartoum government and the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Army as a reaction to the drowning deaths of over 60 students escaping from El-Alifon camp south of Khartoum earlier this month.

Meanwhile El-Mahdi attacked the Sudanese government for continuing mandatory recruitment of students, saying that the government's practices have exceeded all limits. He called for on the Sudanese people to rise up to topple the power in Sudan.

One of the fugitives from El-Alifon's camp said: "We tried hard to escape across the Nile," but the regular forces' fire on the students resulted in a great bloodshed over the Blue Nile's water. He added that the number of dead people was more than 175, "I removed the corpses from my way to be able reach the other shore, and I arrived in Egypt through one of the ships working at the river line, and Halfa valley" at Aswan.

The Sudanese opposition is discussing the option of sending a message to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, calling for the formation of an independent investigation committee to address the issue of the incident at El-Alifon camp.