4 - India in Sudan: Troubles in an African Oil ‘Paradise’

Summary

In May 2008, a group of Indian oilmen found themselves in a rather precarious situation. Outside the town of Heglig in Sudan, the four oil technicians had been surrounded at gunpoint. The armed men who attacked them were from the local Misseriya ethnic group living in the oil area of Southern Kordofan state. They had seen little benefit from oil development since the central government in Khartoum first began to export oil from the region in 1999, and now in response were directing their grievances directly towards the oil companies.

After hearing about the kidnapping, the Indian Ambassador in Khartoum, Deepak Vohra, quickly set in motion negotiations to free the hostages through the local authorities. He assured the Sudanese, Indian and international press that the men were ‘in fine fettle’. A week after the kidnapping, the Sudanese Ambassador to India was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi and urged to ensure that the Sudanese authorities were doing everything in their power to resolve the issue. But it was not until 74 days after the ordeal began that the kidnapping came to an end. Two of the Indian oilmen managed to elude their kidnappers, while a ransom was paid for the release of another. The fourth oil technician, however, was thought to have become lost in the wilderness after also escaping, and was presumed dead.