The World - News from March 31, 1987

Sudan’s Prime Minister Sadek Mahdi has given his army a week to round up, disarm and escort home Libyan troops who last month entered the Sudanese western province of Darfur near Chad. Libyan forces supporting Chadian rebels recently suffered major defeats in Chad. Mahdi told Parliament that his orders to the Sudanese armed forces followed consultations with the commander of the Libyan armed forces, Abu Bakr Younis. He said Younis has instructed the troops, estimated by Mahdi to number 700 to 1,000, to follow the orders of Sudanese officers and expressed his country’s interest in maintaining good relations with Khartoum.