Sudan closes border with Eritrea due to alleged weapons smuggling

Sudan on Sunday closed its borders to neighbouring Eritrea and placed troops in the region to disarm rebels and control weapons smuggling, said a Sudanese official.

However, the closure does not mean bilateral ties with Eritrea have been cut off, Information Minister Ahmed Mohammed Osman told dpa. A week ago, Sudan declared a six-month state of emergency in the border regions of Kassala and North Kordufan. Osman said the closing was to curb rebel activities, alleging that Egyptian forces and rebels from Sudan's restive Darfur province were deployed along the Eritrean border with the aim of topping President Omar al-Bashir.Osman's statement could not be independently verified.Al-Bashir has been in power for nearly 30 years and rules with an increasingly tight grip. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for him in 2009 and 2010 on charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region.