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Five Chinese Oil Workers Killed Says Sudan Govt
Khartoum (AFP) Oct 27, 2008 Five Chinese oil workers kidnapped in Sudan nine days ago have been killed and two wounded, Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadiq told Sudan state television on Monday. The Sudanese government had expressed full optimism only on Sunday that all nine Chinese workers from the China National Petroleum Corporation, who were snatched on October 18, would soon be released safe and well. Khartoum says the kidnappers are rebels from Darfur, which neighbours Kordofan, and members of the same Justice and Equality Movement that staged an unprecedented attack on the Sudanese capital last May. "The JEM rebels killed five of the kidnapped Chinese and injured two. The kidnappers took the other two and ran away," Sadiq said. "We have informed the Chinese embassy in Khartoum," he added. No one from the Chinese embassy was immediately reachable for comment. The Chinese were abducted in South Kordofan, a state which includes the disputed oil region of Abyei, where fighting between former warring north and south Sudan sparked fears of a return to civil war in May. They were taken in the area of Heglig, near the line separating north and south, in the Muglad Basin where most of Sudan's proven oil reserves are located. China, the main buyer of Sudan's oil and a key investor in the economy, has repeatedly been accused in the West of not doing enough to make Khartoum stop the nearly six-year conflict in Darfur. The war began in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime and state-backed militias, fighting for resources and power in one of the most remote and deprived places on earth. In the past, Darfur rebels have kidnapped foreign oil workers from Sudanese oilfields, often targeting Chinese companies because of their strong ties with Khartoum, although all of those abducted eventually emerged unscathed. In October 2007, Darfur rebels from JEM attacked an oilfield run by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company, a consortium involving China's CNPC. JEM has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the latest kidnapping. Earlier on Monday, tribal chiefs in central Sudan set out into the bush hoping to meet the kidnappers for the first time and start negotiations for their release, a tribesman said. Bishtana Mohamed Salem, from the Messeria, the dominant Arab tribe, told AFP later on Monday that he had no further information about their mission because the tribesmen would not return to the town of Muglad until Tuesday.
earlier related report "Last night, the kidnappers asked representatives of the local leaders to meet them today," said Bishtana Mohamed Salem, from the Messeria, the dominant Arab tribe, who mediates on disputes with other tribes. "Some of the local leaders have just left town (Muglad), and during the day they will meet the kidnappers," he told AFP by telephone. The Chinese were abducted on October 18 in South Kordofan, a state which includes the disputed oil region of Abyei, where fighting between former warring north and south Sudan sparked fears of a return to civil war in May. They were taken in the area of Heglig, near the line separating north and south, in the Muglad Basin where most of Sudan's proven oil reserves are located. Salem said that senior Messeria tribesman Ismail Hamdeen was leading the delegation to meet the kidnappers. The location of the assignation was not pre-arranged because the kidnappers are constantly on the move through the bush in a bid to avoid capture by government security forces, Salem said. "After the meeting, the local leaders will negotiate with the government. The kidnappers will give them a mandate to represent them in negotiation with the government," he said. The Sudanese government on Sunday expressed optimism that the three Chinese engineers and six other workers from the China National Petroleum Corporation would soon be released safe and well. Khartoum says the kidnappers are rebels from Darfur, which neighbours Kordofan, and that local chiefs are spearheading efforts to secure the hostages' release. China, the main buyer of Sudan's oil and a key investor in the economy, has repeatedly been accused in the West of not doing enough to make Khartoum stop the nearly six-year conflict in Darfur. The war began in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime and state-backed militias, fighting for resources and power in one of the most remote and deprived places on earth. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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