June 13, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) on Thursday announced that Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels attacked an oil pipeline in northern Abyei, pointing out the assailants penetrated the area from South Sudan Unity state.
![JPEG - 29.8 kb]()
- A Sudanese engineer points at damage on oil pipeline in Heglig, April 23, 2012 (Reuters)
SAF spokesperson, Al Sawarmi Khaled, said that JEM rebels on Wednesday at 09.00 pm attacked the pipeline in Ajaja area in northern Abyei, which is under the protection of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), from South Sudanese Unity state.
He said the UNISFA soldiers are pursuing the attackers .
Oil minister Awad Al-Jaz, on the other hand, said the fire had broken out in the secondary pipeline connecting Dafra oil field and the oil processing plant in Heglig.
The minister added that the fire now extinguished and the situation is under full control as the technical teams are now restarting the pipeline.
Al-Sawarmi said the rebels had engineering equipment that enabled them to blow up the pipeline, stressing this gear was provided by the South Sudanese government.
JEM spokesperson Gibreel Ibrahim Bilal told Sudan Tribune that he has no information about such an attack.
He further denied that their movement has a base or any presence in Unity state.
Sudan says JEM rebels has a base in Unity state near Bentiu but Juba always denied that and dismissed their presence in South Sudan.
(ST)