Rebels claim a victory against Sudan's Army in Darfur clash

Rebels in the Darfur region of Sudan Sunday attacked a Sudanese Army convoy near the border with Chad and claim they defeated two battalions of soldiers in the clash, something the authorities denied. This is the second clash between rebels and the Army in the past week in Sudan. A 26,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force is due to be deployed in January in hopes of stopping the violence in the war-torn region.

The rebels claimed to have captured 29 soldiers, 32 vehicles, and a number of heavy weapons, reports the British Broadcasting Corp. "Sudan's army confirmed a clash outside el-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, but denied suffering heavy losses."

This is the second time in a week that [Justice and Equality Movement] Jem rebels have said they have inflicted a heavy defeat on government troops, the BBC's Adam Mynott reports from Nairobi.

They said their forces had attacked an army garrison in Kordofan in central Sudan last Tuesday.

Again, the Sudanese government denied the claims.

A rebel report that they had taken over a Chinese-run oil field was denied by the Chinese embassy in Khartoum, which did, however, confirm there had been fighting.

Leaders of the JEM told Reuters that the attack on a Chinese-run oil field was the second in two months, and attacks would continue until the Chinese left Sudan's oil industry.

"The government uses the oil money to buy Chinese weapons in Darfur," said Ibrahim. He said JEM had attacked another field in the area two days previous called the Khadra field.

The fields are operated by the Chinese-led consortium Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC), which involves India's ONGC, China's CNPC, Malaysia's Petronas and Sudanese state-owned Sudapet in Sudan's Blocks 1, 2 and 4 producing the light Nile Blend crude.

Many officials from Sudan's opaque energy ministry declined to comment on the report. The ministry had denied previous attacks which were later proved true because the rebels had taken oil workers hostage.

Nile Blend makes up around 265,000 barrels per day of Sudan's total output of more than 500,000 bpd. The area straddles Sudan's north-south border.

China has come under increasing criticism for its close ties with the Sudanese government. Referring to recent protests against China in the region's refugee camps, one opinion piece in the Sudan Tribune said China is paying for earlier mistakes.

Since around mid-nineties China has been supplying the government of Sudan with all types of weaponry, and ammunitions, including jet fighters, helicopters, small arms, machines guns etc…not only that, but China has upped its economic support for the internationally isolated government pouring billions of dollars into ill prepared infrastructure projects (such as Merowe dam).

Page: 1 | 2