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Sudanese president sworn in before meeting of Sahelian leaders

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February 13, 2001 

KHARTOUM--(AP) - Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir, dressed in full military uniform, was sworn in for a second term Monday in the presence of 14 heads of state who were in Khartoum for a meeting of the Group of Sahel and Sahara States.

Thousands of Sudanese crowded outside the parliament building where the oath took place, beating drums, chanting and dancing as el-Bashir laid his right hand on the Muslim holy book, the Quran, swearing that he will "work for the dignity of the people and respect the constitution."

El-Bashir was reelected president with 86.5 percent of the vote in December elections that were boycotted by most opposition parties, who called on the military-backed government to restore full political and press freedoms and end the civil war before holding elections.

The two-day meeting of the Group of Sahel and Sahara States aims for closer economic cooperation among member states. The group was established in Libya in 1998 with the aim of creating what Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi termed as "The United States of Africa," despite some damaging regional disputes.

The group includes Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Gambia, Libya, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Sudan. Four other states - Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia - will join the group during the Khartoum summit, which is also attended by representatives of 10 regional and United Nations organizations.

The group's last summit was held in Chad last February.

At the end of the meetings Tuesday, the leaders expect to issue a "Khartoum Declaration" which is expected to deal with economic integration among the member states, security issues, human rights, the Lockerbie bombing trial and the civil war in Sudan.

Sudan has been plagued by war since 1983, when southern rebels took up arms to gain autonomy for the mainly Christian and animist south from the Muslim north. Nearly 2 million people have died in the fighting or war-related famines.

The Sahel, which means coast in Arabic, is the semi-desert region south of the Sahara that runs west to east from the Cape Verde Islands off Senegal to Ethiopia.