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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 September 1999 Issue No. 446 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 September 1999 Issue No. 446
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Focus Culture Features Books Special Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Elusive dream
AN EXTRAORDINARY summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), due to be held today in Sirte, has given rise to the unrealistic dream of creating a United States of Africa, writes Dina Ezzat from Libya.Host Muammar Gaddafi, whose shift towards pan-Africanism followed the OAU's decision to challenge the UN Security Council imposed embargo, is seeking to have the OAU charter amended to include provisions for the super state. But for a continent ravaged by so many conflicts, unity appears as far away as ever.
"Amending the charter is not an easy thing to do," commented Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, who headed Egypt's delegation to the summit. "A committee has been working on this for 25 years. We [in Egypt] believe that we should seek ways to make the OAU more effective."
The gathering served as an opportunity for Egypt, Libya and Sudan to promote joint Cairo-Tripoli efforts to secure national reconciliation in Sudan, with meetings between the countries' foreign ministers.
Egyptian and Libyan officials also held meetings with John Garang, leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army in an attempt to push the joint initiative.
A planned meeting on the fringe of the summit, between President Hosni Mubarak, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and the Libyan leader, however, was cancelled when Egypt's president was unable to attend.
Militants killed
SECURITY forces on Tuesday shot and killed four suspected Islamist militants, including a key figure in the underground Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya, at a hideout in a Giza suburb, reports Jailan Halawi. The shoot-out comes after a six-month lull in police-militant violence.An Interior Ministry statement said police surrounded the apartment building in Al-Omraniya. In an hour-long shoot-out four men were killed including Farid Salem Kidwani, wanted in connection with 24 terrorist attacks. He had twice been sentenced, in absentia, to life imprisonment.
