Reports of meeting with Sudan denied

Eritrea has denied reports of a planned meeting in Libya between President Isayas Afewerki and his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir.

The Sudanese president visited Tripoli last week and there were reports in the Sudanese and foreign press that Isayas would meet Bashir and the Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qadhafi in a bid to mend strained relations between Khartoum and Asmara.

But Eritrea's acting Information Minister Ali Abdu Ahmed on Tuesday dismissed any idea of a meeting between the Sudanese and Eritrean presidents.

"There is no meeting, such reports are total fabrication," he told IRIN. He claimed the reports had been "deliberately leaked" by the Sudanese media, and that a meeting at this time would be "ridiculous".

Ties between the two countries have become increasingly tense, and their common border remains closed - an act "unilaterally carried out by Sudan", said Ali Abdu.

Each side accuses the other of supporting its rebel groups. Asmara blames the Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement (EIJM) - which it says is backed by Sudan - for the recent murder of a British geologist Timothy Nutt in western Eritrea. Both the EIJM and Khartoum have denied the allegation.

For its part, Khartoum accuses Eritrea of supporting a newly-formed rebel movement, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), in the western Darfur region, charges also denied by Asmara.