Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 21:41:07 +0200
South Sudan rebels say seize oil hub Bentiu, tell foreign firms to go
Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:54pm GMT
* Army confirms there is fighting in Unity state
* Rebels give oil firms a one-week deadline to leave
* Three Russian oil workers injured in attack -source
By Aaron Maasho
ADDIS ABABA, April 15 (Reuters) - South Sudanese rebels said on Tuesday they
have seized the capital of oil-producing Unity state, Bentiu, and warned oil
firms to pack up and leave within a week.
Thousands of people have been killed and more than one million displaced
since fighting erupted in South Sudan in the middle of December, triggered
by a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and former Vice President
Riek Machar.
"The recapturing of Bentiu marks the first phase of liberation of oil fields
from (the) anti-democratic and genocidal forces of Kiir," rebel spokesman
Lul Ruai Koang said in a statement.
Urging all oil firms operating in government-held areas to shut their
operations and evacuate their staff within a week, he said, "Failure to
comply with this request, the oil companies risk forced oil shutdown and the
safety of their staff."
An oil ministry official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that three
Russian oil workers were injured in a rebel attack at a newly built refinery
facility in Bentiu yesterday.
Army spokesman Phillip Aguer said there was fighting in Unity state but he
did not have a full report on what had happened.
"There has been serious fighting in Unity today, so far the SPLA
(government) forces are still on the ground but we are still waiting for a
full report to tell us exactly what has happened," Aguer said.
The civil war in Africa's newest state has created a humanitarian crisis in
the country, which declared independence from Sudan in 2011, but has since
been plagued by disorder.
The conflict has also disrupted oil production, which provides a hefty
portion of the government's revenue.
Upper Nile state is the only province pumping oil in South Sudan since the
shutdown in Unity state. Output there stood steady at about 160,000 barrels
a day late last month.
A ceasefire signed in January has been broken frequently and peace talks in
Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa have stalled often.
Negotiations have repeatedly been postponed because of a dispute over who
should be represented, although IGAD, the regional bloc mediating between
the two sides, says the talks are set to resume later this month.
The lack of progress has frustrated Western backers of the world's youngest
country who are pressing both sides to lay down their weapons.
The United States, Britain, the European
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Norway have threatened measures against the country's warring sides. Last
month, U.S. President Barack Obama authorised possible targeted sanctions
against those committing human rights abuses or undermining democracy and
obstructing the peace process. (Additional reporting by Carl Odera in
Nairobi; Editing by Duncan Miriri and Louise Ireland)
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