Sudan and the Central African Republic announced Monday the resumption of diplomatic ties broken last May. The official Sudan News Agency said the announcement came during an unexpected visit to the Central African Republic capital Bangui by Lt. Gen. Omar el-Bashir, Sudan's military strongman. He met with Andre Kolingba, president of Central African Republic, and they later issued a joint communique saying the two neighbors were restoring diplomatic relations, reopening their borders and resuming air service. The two countries severed links May 30 after Sudan, then under civilian Prime Minister Sadek el-Mahdi, refused to allow a Central African plane to cross Sudanese airspace en route to Israel. Kolingba was aboard the plane, but Sudan said it had not known it at the time. It said it was merely following a general Arab ban on flights heading for Israel. A junta led by el-Bashir overthrew el-Mahdi's civilian administration June 30.
