KHARTOUM: Twelve Sudanese were killed in a car crash yesterday as they tried to evade Libyan police and enter the country illegally, Sudan’s foreign ministry said.
“Twelve Sudanese nationals died at the border with Libya when their car overturned as it was being chased by Libyan police,” the ministry said.
It said the Libyan charge d’affaires in Khartoum would be summoned and asked for an investigation to be carried out.
Sudanese authorities said the 12 killed were part of a group of 70-80 people who had left from Khartoum to cross illegally into Libya with people traffickers.
The foreign ministry issued an advisory to its nationals cautioning against travel to Libya, which has since last year closed its southern borders with Algeria, Chad, Niger and Sudan for security reasons.
According to labour ministry figures, almost 100,000 Sudanese left the country illegally in 2002, with Libya as a top destination for efforts to transit to Europe.
AFP
