Job seekers killed, injured at oil field in Sudan’s West Kordofan

Three people were shot dead and 16 others wounded by security guards of the Balila oil field in El Salam locality, West Kordofan, on Friday. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a Misseriya tribesman reported that on Friday afternoon a large crowd of Misseriya gathered inside the premises of the Chinese BGP petroleum company at Balila to apply for a job. The BGP management had announced that 100 out of more than 400 jobs would be allocated to people living in the area. The Misseriya were surprised when the Sudanese chief administrative officer of the company told them that there were only 15 working places available. More than 197 jobs had been given to workers from outside the area. When the job seekers understood that most of the jobs had been given to the chief administrator’s relatives, the situation exploded. Security guards started shooting at the crowd, killing three men and wounding 16 others. Ten women miscarried.   The source demanded from the authorities “to assume full responsibility for what is happening in the region”. File photo: Oil well drilling pits in East Darfur (IRIN)