Sudanese opposition claims responsibility for exploding oil pipeline

The joint military leadership of the Sudanese Democratic National Alliance has announced its responsibility for the attack which targeted an oil pipeline in Atbara, north of Khartoum.

The spokesman for the joint military leadership, Lt. Gen. Abdul Rahman Saeed, said in a statement to AFP, "We had prepared a special force to attack the oil pipeline which the government claims that it was ensuring full protection."

SANA said in this respect that oil industry sources said on Tuesday that maintenance of the Sudanese oil pipeline which is 1,610 km long, part of which was destroyed in an explosion took place on Monday, will last for one week.

The sources added the explosion resulted in postponing the shipment of oil cargoes of 600,000 barrels of oil to South Korea in the period between September 22 and 24, as well as in closing down a pumping station connected to the pipeline.

Talisman Energy, which supervises the investment of one of the new oil fields in Sudan, said on Monday that the defect which hit the pipeline is simple and needs only three days to be repaired.