JUBA, South Sudan - Rebel fighters in South Sudan claimed Tuesday that they captured the capital of an oil rich state, and they issued an ultimatum to oil companies to shut down production and evacuate workers.
United Nations peacekeepers from Mongolia rescued 10 staff members from the Russian oil company Safinat just north of the city of Bentiu, said Joe Contreras, a U.N. spokesman. He said five workers were wounded, two of whom were in critical condition.
A rebel commander, speaking by phone from Unity state, said rebel forces recaptured Bentiu from government troops.
“Our forces have completed mopping and cleaning up operations in and around Bentiu Tuesday morning while other combat units are in hot pursuit of government generals running toward” the northern border, said Brig. Gen. LulRuai Koang, a spokesman for rebel troops. “The recapturing of Bentiu marks the first phase of liberation of oil fields from anti-democratic and genocidal forces of” President Salva Kiir, he said.
South Sudan saw violence sweep the country in December, when fighting broke out between troops loyal to the former vice president and those loyal to Kiir. Thousands of people are believed to have been killed, and more than 1 million have fled their homes.
Koang urged oil companies operating in government-controlled areas to immediately begin closing down oil production and to evacuate staff members within a week. He said a failure to comply would risk the forced shutdown of oil facilities and threaten the safety of workers there.
Despite Koang’s claims, the spokesman for South Sudan’s military, Col. Philip Aguer, said that the fighting was still ongoing and the picture from Bentiu was not yet clear.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 04/16/2014