SUDAN REBELS 'ATTACK OIL FIELD' !

A Darfur rebel group says it has attacked and taken over a Chinese-run oil field in central Sudan. A Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) leader said it had defeated 1,200 government troops in Kordofan state. The Chinese embassy in Khartoum has confirmed there was fighting but denied a Chinese-run facility had been taken. Jem wants China to end its huge investment in Sudan, which the rebels say is giving the government the funds to buy weapons. "Our attack is another attempt at telling Chinese companies to leave the country," Jem commander Abdel Aziz Nur al-Ashr told the AFP news agency.

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"Our goal is for oil revenues to go back to the Sudanese people and that is a strategic plan of our movement," he said. Jem leader Khalil Ibrahim said a number of troops had been killed in the hour-long assault but would not give a figure. He also said that Jem fighters would be carrying out other attacks over the next few days.

No-one was available from the Sudanese government to comment on the attack. In October the rebels attacked another Chinese oil field and kidnapped five workers, who have since been released. China buys most of Sudan's oil. It has used its veto at the UN Security Council to block resolutions threatening sanctions on the Sudanese government.

The government denies charges that it backs the Janjaweed militias, accused of widespread atrocities against Darfur's black African residents. At least 200,000 people have been killed in Darfur's five-year conflict. Some 2.5 million have fled their homes.

BBC NEWS REPORT.