Security forces say oil attack foiled

The Sudanese army on Thursday stated that it had foiled a rebel attempt to blow up an oil pipeline in Red Sea State, eastern Sudan, Sudanese TV reported on Thursday. Security personnel guarding the pipeline had defused an explosive device in the Braniu area, 400 km south of Sinkat, according to the report. Guards had uncovered some publications by the Beja Congress, a rebel group allied to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), along with a number of grenades and an amount of TNT explosive, it added. The SPLM/A has repeatedly accused foreign oil companies operating in southern Sudan of collaborating with the Sudanese government, and warned that they are “legitimate targets” in the country’s 18-year civil war.