Oil companies “legitimate targets”

The leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), John Garang, has described foreign oil companies operating in southern Sudan as “legitimate targets” in the war against the Khartoum government, news agencies report. Speaking to the Arabic newspaper ‘Al-Hayat’ on Sunday, Garang claimed that the oil companies drilling in the war-torn south of the country were threatening the security of the people there, and were therefore liable to attack.

Garang was quoted by the BBC as saying the companies were threatening the SPLM/A by continuing to drill for oil in the south. “We consider them mercenaries working for the Islamist regime,” he said. Garang added that the SPLM/A would hold the Sudanese government responsible for the losses suffered by workers and companies operating in the oilfields. “We will pursue our resistance, and we consider them as legitimate targets,” Garang told ‘Al-Hayat’.