The Egyptian government, intent on suppressing its own Islamists, had felt threatened by Sudan's Islamist power-behind-the-throne, Hassan Turabi, the sharp, fast-talking speaker of parliament.

ECONOMIST: Sudan��s chance for peace

More significant was last month's meeting in Geneva between Hassan Turabi, the regime's ideologue, and Sadiq el Mahdi, an ousted prime minister who is now the opposition's leading light.

ECONOMIST: Sudan loses its chains

Hassan al-Turabi, an Islamist leader under house arrest, began a hunger strike this week with 66 of his followers.

ECONOMIST: Powell seeks to stop the killing | The