Rebels have warned China to end its support for the regime of Sudanese
President Omar Bashir. They said China has been a leading contractor in oil
development and security in the Arab League state. Sudan has been producing
at least 500,000 barrels of oil per day, Middle East Newsline reported.
JEM has given Greater Nile a week to leave Sudan. The rebel group did
not
elaborate.
"We may have a very dangerous development if we miss this opportunity,"
the rebel group said in a statement.
The rebel movement has been divided over an invitation to reconciliation
talks in Libya. JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim and the Northern Command said they
would not attend.
The United Nations and African Union have sought to establish a
26,000-member
force to enforce a peace settlement in Darfour. But Sudan has placed
conditions on the joint force, which has failed to acquire helicopters or
transport vehicles, and demanded that China, Egypt and Pakistan be granted a
key role in the peace-keeping mission.
"Any attempt to bypass these references would be considered an attempt
to cause chaos," Sudanese Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Karti said.
In an unrelated development, Russia's media reported that China
signed a $1 billion deal to sell up to 48 J-10 fighter-jets to Iran. China
has denied the report. The J-10, with a range of nearly 3,000 kilometers,
contains Russian engines, and much of the avionics was said to have stemmed
from Israel's defunct Lavi fighter-jet project. Beijing has denied the
report.
