Sudanese round up 1,200 in drive on aliens, jobless

Sudanese security forces arrested 1,200 people in Khartoum, the capital city, during the weekend, the Egyptian Middle East News Agency reports. The state-run news agency said the arrests were part of a crackdown ''to clean the capital of jobless people and aliens who entered the country illegally.''

Sudanese police arrested more than 12,000 people in similar clampdowns in recent weeks, partly as a precaution against the infiltration of government opponents from neighboring Libya. Small arms and ammunition were reportedly seized in the operation and 300 of the detainees later released.