Rebels reiterate warning to oil companies

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) on 13 July claimed to have shot down a government helicopter gunship around the oilfields of western Upper Nile. In a statement released in Nairobi, Kenya, by SPLM/A spokesman Samson Kwaje, the rebel group said the helicopter was one of three which appeared to have taken off from the government held garrison of Bentiu, and to be headed towards Wang Kai. The army said in a press statement on 13 July that one of its helicopters had crashed in Al-Wahdah (Unity) State after developing a mechanical problem while on “daily routine activities.” The pilot tried an emergency landing in an area occupied by government forces, but the helicopter crashed, killing the pilot and copilot, Sudanese television reported.

The SPLM/A alleged that the helicopters were last week engaged in attacking civilian settlements as part of a policy of depopulating western Upper Nile to allow international companies to exploit its oil reserves, and that the helicopters had been taking off and refuelling at airstrips owned by oil companies operating in the area. The SPLM/A reiterated its warning to foreign oil companies that they were a “legitimate target”. “The presence of oil companies and their facilities that are being liberally used by the GOS [Government of Sudan] army have contributed to lengthening the war and the suffering of our people,” it stated.