South Sudan rebels seize oil-rich Bentiu

Rebels from South Sudan said Tuesday they took control over the city Bentiu of oil-rich Wehda State, while Khartoum denied allegations of supporting rebels, led by South Sudan's former Vice President Riek Machar. Spokesman for the rebels, Lul Ruai Koang demanded, in a statement, "workers of oil companies to pack and leave within a week," adding "recapturing Bentiu represent the first stage of liberating oil fields from anti-democracy genocidal forces that belong to (Sudanese President) Salva Kiir. "Oil companies will face the prospect of halting their operations by force, in addition to the dangers risking the safety of their employees in the case of failing to comply with this request," Koang added. Meanwhile, Sudanese army spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khaled Saad denied foreign media reports of training southern rebels in camps inside Sudanese territories. "I do not have an explanation for it, but only to seek tarnish the recent South Sudan President Salva Kiir's visit to Khartoum and its outcome," Saad said. Saad affirmed that the Sudanese armed forces were fully impartial vis-a-vis the situation in South Sudan. On another front, the Russian foreign ministry said three Russian oil workers were injured in a rebel attack at a newly built refinery facility in Bentiu yesterday. South Sudan Army spokesman Phillip Aguer said there was a fighting in Wehda state but he did not have a full report on what had happened. "There has been serious fighting in Wehda today, so far the SPLA (government) forces are still on the ground but we are still waiting for a full report to tell us exactly what has happened," Aguer added.