The World : Sudan Coup Plot Reported

An attempt to topple the Sudanese government has been foiled and a number of arrests have been made, a Khartoum newspaper reported. Al Sudani said the attempt was led by “racists”--a term used to describe non-Muslim and non-Arab Sudanese involved in a civil war in the south--but gave no further details. There was no official confirmation of the reported coup attempt, but state radio said the defense minister briefed the Cabinet on the security situation. Several newspapers said the capital had been put under a “state of defense and security emergency.” The emergency measures coincided with signs of a growing split in the government over ways to end the war with the southern rebels.