WASHINGTON Ñ Members of the U.S. Congress have charged that foreign oil firms in war-torn southern Sudan have
bolstered the Sudanese military in their attacks on rebel and relief
installations near the Ethiopian and Ugandan border.
The members have
pointed to the presence of Canada's Talisman firm, a key player in a
consortium for the exploration and production of oil in southern Sudan.
Sudanese officials assert that government forces have captured a key
town near the Blue Nile from the Sudanese People's Liberation Army. They
said the military operation has ended the rebel threat on the oil region.
Rep. Chris Smith said Talisman has allowed its air strips to be used by
Sudanese attack helicopters in raids on civilian targets. The House member
said Talisman has also allowed Sudanese government forces to use the roads
built by the oil company.
"Despite the damming findings of numerous human rights assessment
missions to the oil regions, including one commissioned by the Canadian
Foreign Ministry, Talisman operates without restraint of any sort," Smith
told the House International Relations Committee earlier this month.
"Talisman stands as the very embodiment of Western corporate evil in Sudan
and shows no sign of ending its present complicity in genocidal
destruction."
