Tue Apr 15, 2014
Rebels in South Sudan say they have recaptured the oil-rich Unity state capital Bentiu from government troops.
The spokesperson for rebel leader Riek Machar, James Gatdet Dak, made announcement in the volatile region on Tuesday
“I could hear the ululations of people in the background celebrating its recapture and I couldn’t hear gun shots which suggested that the fighting was over inside the town,” the spokesman said, adding, “To me, the town has fallen to our forces.”
The rebels say they have given oil companies an ultimatum to shut down production and evacuate their staff within a week.
This is while the UN peacekeepers say they have rescued ten staff members from the Russian oil company Safinat.
Five oil workers were wounded during the rescue operation, with two said to be in critical condition.
A rebel commander says recapturing the oil-rich-state is the first phase of taking control of all oil fields.
The fighting between troops of South Sudan President Salva Kiir, who is from the Dinka ethnic group, and his former deputy, Machar, a Nuer, erupted around the capital, Juba, on December 15, 2013.
The conflict soon turned into an all-out war between the army and defectors, with the violence taking on an ethnic dimension that pitted the president’s tribe against Machar’s.
The fighting comes despite a ceasefire signed on January 23 to end weeks of heavy fighting which led to the death of thousands of people in the world’s youngest nation.
The international community has repeatedly urged both sides to respect the ceasefire.
The ongoing violence in South Sudan has claimed thousands of lives and forced over a million to flee their homes.
Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/04/15/358691/rebels-seize-key-oil-town-in-south-sudan/.
Rebels in South Sudan say they have recaptured the oil-rich Unity state capital Bentiu from government troops.
The spokesperson for rebel leader Riek Machar, James Gatdet Dak, made announcement in the volatile region on Tuesday
“I could hear the ululations of people in the background celebrating its recapture and I couldn’t hear gun shots which suggested that the fighting was over inside the town,” the spokesman said, adding, “To me, the town has fallen to our forces.”
The rebels say they have given oil companies an ultimatum to shut down production and evacuate their staff within a week.
This is while the UN peacekeepers say they have rescued ten staff members from the Russian oil company Safinat.
Five oil workers were wounded during the rescue operation, with two said to be in critical condition.
A rebel commander says recapturing the oil-rich-state is the first phase of taking control of all oil fields.
The fighting between troops of South Sudan President Salva Kiir, who is from the Dinka ethnic group, and his former deputy, Machar, a Nuer, erupted around the capital, Juba, on December 15, 2013.
The conflict soon turned into an all-out war between the army and defectors, with the violence taking on an ethnic dimension that pitted the president’s tribe against Machar’s.
The fighting comes despite a ceasefire signed on January 23 to end weeks of heavy fighting which led to the death of thousands of people in the world’s youngest nation.
The international community has repeatedly urged both sides to respect the ceasefire.
The ongoing violence in South Sudan has claimed thousands of lives and forced over a million to flee their homes.
Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/04/15/358691/rebels-seize-key-oil-town-in-south-sudan/.
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