Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Oil fuels Sudanese strife By Mohamed Saleh Opposition forces last week blew up a section of the key oil export pipeline at Atbara, about 350km north of Khartoum. Bashir on 30 August. However, some Sudanese independents criticised the opposition for targeting oil which is not the property of the ruling fundamentalist regime, but rather a national resource. According to him, the NDA has repeatedly warned both the government and foreign companies that oil fields, roads and pipelines are legitimate military targets.
Oil is a national resource which is being misused by the current government.
Our aim is to deprive them of the funds used to fight the opposition and support the current regime. Many observers have noted that a lengthy pipeline cannot easily be protected in the absence of political stability. However, Sudanese Interior Minister Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein told reporters that new security measures have been taken to protect the pipeline. But he gave no details. On the opposition side, Said challenged the government's ability to protect the pipeline.