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Tuesday, 02 December, 2008, 04:10 GMT | more >>

Darfur rebels 'take oilmen hostage'



By Upstream staff 

China has urged Sudan to protect Chinese staff working in the country's upstream sector, following claims a Darfur rebel group had kidnapped two oilmen in a bid to force Beijing to abandon its projects in the country.

The Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) said last night that it had attacked the Defra oilfield in the Kordofan region, neighbouring disputed Darfur, and kidnapped two foreign oil workers. Sudanese officials could not confirm or deny the claim.

"This is a message to China and Chinese oil companies to stop helping the government with their war in Darfur," Reuters quoted JEM commander Abdel Aziz el-Nur Ashr.

A Canadian and an Iraqi were seized from the field run by the the Chinese-led Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company. The consortium has Sudanese, Chinese, Indian and Malaysian partners.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said no citizens of his country were injured in the reported attack, but also urged Sudan to step up safeguards.

"We're taking the reports very seriously and hope the parties involved will immediately cease fire and solve the Darfur issue through peaceful negotiations," spokesman Liu Jianchao said.

"We also hope that Sudan will take China's concerns seriously and adopt measures to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel."

International experts say 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million fled their homes in Darfur since 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government, which in turn mobilized militias to crush the revolt. Sudan says the scale of destruction is much smaller, with only 9000 dead.


Thursday, 25 October, 2007, 10:08 GMT  | last updated: Thursday, 25 October, 2007, 10:28 GMT

Rebel claims: JEM said it had taken two oilmen hostage
 

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