Cairo  - Fifteen tourists were kidnapped in Upper Egypt on Monday, with Egyptian authorities now in touch with kidnappers to try to negotiate their release, latest media reports said.

The latest reports said that the 15 included five Germans, five Italians, four Egyptians and one Romanian national.

The kidnapped were on a safari trip when they were seized by four masked men.

In both Berlin and Rome, the respective foreign ministries confirmed that their nationals were among the kidnap victims.

Nairobi/Khartoum - The joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur UNAMID said Thursday it would continue to provide security in a camp for internally displaced people following a deadly attack by Sudanese security forces.

UNAMID says 32 people, including women and children, died and 50 were injured in the attack in Sudan's restive Darfur province on August 25.

Sudanese security opened fire in the Kalma camp near the capital of South Darfur, Nyala, during what it said was an operation to retrieve a rebel weapon stockpile.

Nairobi/Khartoum - The joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur UNAMID has slammed the Sudanese government for killing dozens in a refugee camp in the restive province, accusing it of violating the Darfur Peace Agreement.

Sudanese security forces Monday opened fire in the Kalma internally displaced person camp near the capital of South Darfur, Nyala, when it launched what it said was an operation to retrieve a rebel weapon stockpile.

"While the alleged presence of weapons in the Kalma camp is a real security concern for the... authorities, the actions taken to address it are a clear violation of the Darfur Peace Agreement," UNAMID said Tuesday in an unusually critical statement.

Istanbul - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir rejected Wednesday the possibility that the International Criminal Court (ICC) may charge him in connection with the conflict in Darfur.

"Sudan is an independent country with its own strong justice system. Our judges can decide for themselves on penalties, even for a president," said al-Bashir.

Al-Bashir was speaking on the edge of a Turkish-African summit in Istanbul. He said that Sharia law reigns in Sudan and he cannot accept any court that doesn't follow its rules.

Istanbul - Turkish President Abdullah Gul met Tuesday with his visiting Sudanese counterpart, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and urged his guest to make every effort to end the suffering in the crisis region of Darfur.

The meeting took place within the framework of a Turkey-organised African summit in Istanbul, but to the backdrop of criticism of Istanbul for allowing the visit.

Media reports said al-Bashir expressed his regret about the situation in Darfur, but denied any responsibility for massacres there.