EGYPTIAN Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said yesterday that Egypt had no plans to encourage Egyptian workers or busi- nessmen to abandon investment in the Arab country of Algeria after attacks against Egyptian expatriates and businesses there."Egyptians working in Algeria total 10,000. Some 92 only came back home due to attacks and threats of attacks. The Algerian authorities said they would ensure the Egyptians' safety there
Abul Gheit said yesterday. The Egyptian official accused foreign quarters whom he did not name of fomenting unrest between the two Arab countries.Egyptian investments in Algeria are estimated at six billion dollars. The Egyptian official said he had phoned Algerian Foreign Minister Murad Medlci, who assured him that Egyptian workers in Algeria would be highly secured.The assurances were made as Egyptians and Algerians shift their sights to Sudan where their national football teams are engaged in a World Cup play- off tonight amid heavy security. Cairo Airport authorities yesterday allowed an Algerian plane heading to Khartoum with 205 fans on board to leave the airport despite lacking a necessary licences, according to Egyptian officials."We are still Arab brethren though the Algerian authorities in Wahran Airport rejected the landing of a private Egyptian plane to evacuate 100 Egyptian workers who were under attack there," an Egyptian Airport official said.Thousands of Algerian and Egyptian fans, meanwhile, descended intoKhartoum yesterday for the decisive World Cup qualifier tonight between the two Arab rivals as Sudanese police went on high alert after weekend unrest."We are travelling to Sudan to win. We do not care about what will happen next," Sameh Abdel Wahab, an Egyptian arriving at the Khartoum arrivals lounge said. Khartoum state governor Abdelrahman al-Khidr said they expected 48 aircraft from Algeria and 18 from Egypt, noting about 2,000 Egyptians were also expected to take buses, while thousands already lived and worked in the Sudanese capital. Khartoum has not seen such football pilgrimage since hosting the African Nations Cup in 1970, and is unaccustomed to major international events.Hotels in the Sudanese capital were fully booked yesterday, forcing local authorities to set up two separate sites for each camp of supporters, several kilometres apart. Authorities are trying to separate the fans of both countries to avoid violence that has erupted over the race between the bitter North African rivals for a place in the World Cup 2010, as witnessed in Algeria, Egypt and France in recent days.The world football governing body FIFA hastily arranged the play-off in a neutral territory after Egypt's 2-0 home win over Algeria on Saturday left the two teams deadlocked at the top of their World Cup qualifying group.Around 15,000 police are on standby in case things boil over before, during and after the game, said Khartoum governor Al-Khidr.Omdurman's Al-Merreikh Stadium seats 41,000, but the authorities have limited the number of tickets for the match to 35,000 spectators for safety reasons.About 9,000 seats have been reserved for the rival fans at opposite ends of the stadium.Algeria's squad have reportedly been offered 300,000 dollars a man to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1986, and Egypt 200,000 to qualify after a 19- year absence.
