Sudan is seeking General Abdul Rahman Saeed, spokesman of the military command of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and Brigadier Abdel Aziz Khalid, chief of the alliance forces. ·

Abdel Nasser Wannane, who is probing the September 19 bomb attack on a pipeline near northern Atbara, said he had sent extradition requests to Eritrea and to other countries he did not name. ·

Wannane said a separate request would be sent directly to Eritrea, where the two Sudanese opposition leaders headed after being expulsed from Egypt. ·

He noted that Sudan and Eritrea are signatories to UN and Organisation of African Unity coventions concerning international peace and security, and maintained that sabotage and terroism constitute violations of those accords. ·

The NDA, which claimed responsibility for the attack, comprises the northern political opposition to the Sudanese government and the rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) operating in the south. ·

The girl died and nearly 15,000 people were displaced when 47 rivers burst their banks in Limu district in southern Ethiopia after the region was lashed by six days of heavy rain.

Relief officials in the west of the country appealed for emergency relief where another 16,000 people were left without shelter after the river Barro swept away their homes following heavy rain in Itang district.

In other commodity markets, oil and gold prices fell sharply as speculators sold to cash in profits. Soybean prices eased but corn prices closed steady.

At the New York Board of Trade, coffee prices tumbled by about 10 percent and ended a three-day rally triggered by Brazil weather fears. Coffee for December delivery fell 12.25 cents a pound to close at 107.10 cents.

A week ago, the market was trading at 86 cents.

Brazil accounts for more than a third of world coffee production. It had emerged from its winter months with coffee trees undamaged by winter cold or frost, but excessive dryness had sparked this week's rally on fears that it would stress the trees and hurt yields.

Brazilian forecaster Somar said Thursday that Brazil's coffee belt should see a gradual return of rains through next week.

But U.S.-based Weather Services Corp. said the rains might not be enough for the trees to recover.

``The forecast rain event for early next week does not appear to us to be enough to end crop stress,'' the private forecaster said. ``The very long-range outlook calls for a return to dry weather throughout the coffee belt during the middle to latter part of next week.''

``The drought is so different from a freeze,'' said Judith Ganes, first vice-president and senior tropical soft commodities analyst for Merrill Lynch. ``A drought is something that's progressive and you're constantly watching the weather forecasts and differing opinions on how much rain fell.''