Sudanese authorities yesterday arrested Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi and closed his newspaper, party officials said, sparking a furious reaction from the country's opposition.

"At around midnight (2100 GMT Saturday), a group of security officers arriving in three cars, came and took Hassan al-Turabi from his home," his secretary Awad Babakir said.

In a dawn raid several hours later, authorities confiscated the newspaper of Mr Turabi's Popular Congress Party (PCP) and arrested its editor-in-chief. The paper's editor-in-chief, Abuzerr Ali al-Amin, said by telephone he had been detained.

Two other journalists from the paper, Ashraf Abdel Aziz and Dahab Ibrahim, were also arrested, party officials said.

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