SUDAN:Darfuri rebels yesterday said they had captured two foreign oil workers after attacking a Chinese installation in the neighbouring region of Kordofan.
The raid is the latest blow to peace talks scheduled to begin in Libya tomorrow, which analysts were already warning were doomed following the withdrawal of key rebel leaders.
The attack, which happened on Tuesday, was claimed by the Justice and Equality Movement.
Abdelaziz el-Nur Ashr, a Jem field commander, said his forces had captured one Canadian and one Iraqi worker during the assault on the Defra oil field.
"We want China, India and Malaysia to stop oil business, because Khartoum is using the oil money to buy arms and kill the people in Darfur. This is our country and they must go," he said.
China has been accused of failing to use its leverage with Khartoum to end the bloodshed in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have died. It buys about two-thirds of Sudan's oil.
Jem is one of a number of rebel factions considering boycotting the talks in Col Gadaffi's hometown of Sirte.
Pressure is growing on the numerous rebel factions to attend, with the United Nations Security Council threatening action.
"The council underlines its willingness to take action against any party that seeks to undermine the peace process, including by failing to respect such a cessation of hostilities or by impeding the talks, peacekeeping or humanitarian aid," it said in a statement released in New York on Wednesday night.
However, it failed to specify what action might be taken.
Abdelwahid Mohamed el-Nur, founder of the Sudan Liberation Army and a popular figure among the majority Fur tribe, together with leaders of six other splinter groups, have already said they will boycott the meeting.
With so many key players missing analysts say the best outcome could be an agreement to simply meet again.
Larry Rossin, a former American diplomat who now works for the Save Darfur Coalition, said: "If I were the facilitators I would be seeking to build down expectations for this first round."
Mariam Jooma, Sudan analyst with the Institute of Security Studies in Johannesburg, agreed there was little chance of an early breakthrough.
But she added that it was encouraging that a meeting was taking place at all.
She said an agreement was vital for the successful deployment of 26,000 international peacekeepers.
"The whole talk about the hybrid force has been muted by the understanding that one has to reach a political settlement that has support from all the different factions before a peacekeeping force can be deployed," she said