Sunday, January 15, 2006

Chinese security forces in Sudan driving Sudanese people from their homes in upper western Nile oil fields, S Sudan

At a Sudanese refugee camp in Cairo, Egypt David Morse witnessed the desperation behind the protests -- and eventual slaughter -- of African refugees in Egypt. Here is an excerpt from his Jan 13, 2006 report Murder from Darfur to Cairo [via Eugene Oregon at Coalition for Darfur, with thanks] -

Equally disturbing, and perhaps even more telling of the pressures on Sudanese refugees, is the fact that some 5,000 newcomers have arrived at Kakuma camp in Kenya since Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in January 2005.

Some are fleeing new conflicts, such as one in the oil fields of the upper western Nile, where Chinese security forces are said to be driving people from their homes to make way for drilling, pipelines and road building being carried out by China's National Petroleum Corp.

Some of this is reportedly with the approval of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, which is eager to partake in the region's oil wealth, as provided under the peace agreement. China has been the most aggressive of the foreign suitors seeking to tap Sudan's oil reserves.

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