South Sudan secures loan; Sudan arrests 4 foreigners
Foreigners leave an airplane in Khartoum, Sudan, after being arrested near the Heglig area on April 28, 2012, according to a military spokesman. The foreigners, identified as British, Norwegian, South African and South Sudanese citizens, were flown to Khartoum for “more investigation,” the army said.
South Sudan and China agreed to an $8-billion loan today, while the Sudan military said it arrested four people in the disputed Heglig oilfield region, news services reported.
China’s loan will help South Sudan develop infrastructure, although it wasn’t clear if the money would help build an oil pipeline, BBC said.
“You know, we are beginning from zero, but we have enormous resources,” South Sudan Information Minister Barnaba Mariel Benjamin told BBC. “At least (if) the resources are developed, I’m sure it will be for the benefit of the people of South Sudan, and the region and internationally.”
South Sudan President Salva Kiir visited Beijing to secure the loan, Reuters reported.
China will deliver the loan over two years, and Chinese companies will help build roads, bridges and telecommunications networks for agriculture and power projects.
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China is a major buyer of oil from the region, but border clashes between Sudan and South Sudan have stunted supply.
In Sudan today, military officials arrested four men found in the oilfields of Heglig, CNN said.
Those arrested were from the United Kingdom, South Africa, Norway and South Sudan.
“They were engaged in suspicious activities, collecting war debris,” a defense ministry statement said, according to CNN.
South Sudan also accused the Sudanese of dropping eight bombs on the state of Unity today.
Sudan denied any involvement, CNN reported.
A United Nations representative said a UN employee is among those arrested, Agence France-Press reported.
The military flew the men to Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, for questioning.
“This confirms what we said before, that South Sudan in its aggression against Heglig was supported by foreign experts,” army spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad told AFP.
The Norwegian People’s Aid group disputed the army’s claim, and said the men were clearing mines about 90 minutes away from the oil region.
The NPA has a mission in South Sudan.
“It’s impossible that they were in Heglig – they were in Pariang,” Jan Ledang said.
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