News Article by AFP posted on May 03, 2003 at 08:56:45: EST (-5 GMT)
Sudan's Beshir heads for Libya on unscheduled visit
KHARTOUM, May 3 (AFP) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir left here early Saturday for Tripoli on an unscheduled visit to Libya, state Omdurman Radio announced.
Beshir, accompanied by his assistant, Mubarak al-Fadil al-Mahdi, and Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail, will discuss with Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi developments in the Arab world following the Iraq war, the official Al-Anbaa daily reported.
The two leaders will also touch on the security situation in west Sudan's Darfur region, which neighbours Libya, Al-Anbaa said.
The paper also said it expects Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki to join Beshir and Kadhafi, apparently as part of Libyan good offices to mend strained ties between Khartoum and Asmara.
Earlier this week, Ismail accused Eritrea of involvement in recent violent incidents in Al-Fasher, capital of North Darfur State.
The rebel Sudan Liberation Army had claimed to have seized al-Fasher, but Khartoum rejected the claim, saying its forces had beaten back a rebel attack.