Sudan's opposition parties stormed out of parliament today after President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's party refused to consider reforming the security service. The powerful security forces were blamed by opponents for mass murder and torture during the civil war between the north and the south.

A 2005 peace deal to end the civil conflict included a new democratic constitution limiting the powers of the security service to gathering intelligence. The two main parties, President al-Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) entered into a coalition government after signing the 2005 peace pact.

Now the NCP has proposed a law in parliament which would allow the intelligence service to retain widespread powers of arrest and search with little or no accountability. Both the SPLM as well as opposition parties have described the NCP's proposals as unconstitutional. Opposition parties have said they will boycott elections scheduled in just under six months if laws are not amended in line with the new constitution.

Photo: Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir / ANP