KHARTOUM, June 13 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese army on Thursday said a rebel group has blown up an oil pipeline in Ajaja area on the border with South Sudan, the Sudanese Media Center (SMC) reported.
The rebel group moved from South Sudan's Unity state into Sudan 's Abyei, where Ajaja is located, and blew up the oil pipeline and caused a huge fire, the SMC quoted army spokesman Al-Sawarmy Khalid Saad as saying.
He claimed the rebel group was provided with engineering equipment by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) of south Sudan.
Meanwhile, Sudan's Petroleum Minister Awad Ahmed Al-Jaz was quoted by state radio as saying the fire from the explosion has been contained.
"The fire, which broke out on the branch pipeline linking Difra oil field and the main processing station in Heglig, was contained at 1:00 p.m. (0011 GMT)," Al-Jaz said, adding maintenance work has started to restore the operation of the pipeline
Khalid Saad said the UN peacekeeping forces in Abyei have foiled many similar attempts before, and that the international troops are trying to hunt down the rebels responsible for the attack.
The Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) led by Jibril Ibrahim rejects to negotiate with the Sudanese government for a peace agreement.
The JEM, other Darfur rebel movements and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector, have formed the Revolutionary Front Alliance, which aims to topple the government in Khartoum.
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