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Rebels 'hit oil field'

KHARTOUM - Darfur rebels said they attacked a Chinese-run oil field in Sudan yesterday and vowed to launch more assaults on other installations.

KHARTOUM - Darfur rebels said they attacked a Chinese-run oil field in Sudan yesterday and vowed to launch more assaults on other installations.

No one from Sudan's armed forces or the ministry of energy was immediately available for comment on the rebels' claims of an attack on the field in Sudan's Kordofan region.

But in October, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels seized five hostages when they attacked Kordofan's Defra oil field in an assault they said was meant to send China a message to stop supporting the Sudanese government through oil revenues.

China's CNPC owns the largest stake in the Defra operation, run by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC) consortium. Khartoum is very sensitive about reports that might damage its oil industry.

"My army attacked the oil field in Kordofan at 6am," JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim said yesterday.

"We defeated 1200 Sudan army soldiers who were protecting the field. We now have control of the field."

Ibrahim said a number of Sudanese army troops had died in the attack, along with one of his own senior commanders. - Reuters

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