Sudan rebels strike oil field
KHARTOUM, Sudan – Darfur rebels attacked an oil field in a rare extension of their campaign eastwards toward the Sudanese capital and said Monday the military garrison guarding the field had surrendered.
But the government said its forces repelled the assault and were in full control of the Abu Jabra oil field Monday.
The attack on the field on the edge of South Darfur appeared to be another sign that Darfur’s violence was spreading across the region
“The government garrison guarding the oil field was totally destroyed,” the National Redemption Front rebel group said in a statement. “Numerous soldiers, including high-ranking officers and generals, have surrendered,” the rebels said, claiming to have shot down an army helicopter and to have captured a “substantial amount” of weapons and military vehicles.
A Sudanese military spokesman denied the army had surrendered, saying its troops had inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels, who then left the area.
The rebel raid came amid heightened violence in Darfur, where pro-government janjaweed militia have been accused by the United Nations of forcing 60,000 people to flee their homes this month. Violence in Darfur over three years has killed 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million.
Western nations are seeking to deploy U.N. peacekeepers in the troubled zone, but Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Monday restated objections to U.N. troops on the ground, referring instead to a middle ground where U.N. peacekeepers could support the existing African force currently deployed.
Al-Bashir’s comments came as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was expecting a final commitment from Sudan on a deal reached in principle earlier this month for the U.N. to conduct a “hybrid mission” with the African Union force in Darfur.
Khartoum had first signaled it was satisfied with the agreement but has since backtracked on the nature of the mission, opposing the idea that peacekeepers and the force’s command structure could come from outside the AU.