China yesterday rejected threats made by a Sudanese rebel group against its peacekeeping mission in Darfur.
China "could not tolerate criticism from any party for its participation in peacekeeping missions in the Darfur region of Sudan and opposes any public threat made against the security of its peacekeepers there," Xinhua news agency quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang (
The Darfur rebel group Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement has said it considers Chinese troops targets because Beijing supplies military and economic support to the Sudanese government.
Over the weekend, China began deploying a 315-member engineering, well-digging and medical contingent to Darfur to prepare for the arrival of the proposed 26,000-strong hybrid African Union-UN peacekeeping force likely early next year.
The joint force is to take over from a beleaguered 7,000-member African Union mission, although Sudan has yet to approve a list of contributing countries, and participating states have so far failed to contribute helicopters and other vital equipment.
The Justice and Equality Movement, which was boycotting peace talks, claims the Chinese force was only sent to Sudan to protect Beijing's investments in the country's oil industry.
In its latest attempt to broaden the battle beyond the western Darfur region, the movement attacked the Chinese-run Defra oil field in neighboring Kordofan region last month, inflicting losses to the Sudanese army and abducting two foreign workers.
Darfur rebels, along with many international rights activists, accuse China of indirectly funding Khartoum's war effort in Darfur by investing in Sudanese oil.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese