Global Witness has obtained images appearing to show evidence of oil exploration in Sudan's northern Darfur region. This image shows a camp in the region in question. Oil wealth could provide an incentive for peace in a region devastated by war since 2003 - if the revenues were evenly distributed.
The satellite images reveal that a grid of over 500 kilometres of straight lines, characteristic of seismic exploration, appeared in the northwest corner of Sudan's oil exploration block 12A, near the Libyan border, between September 2009 and March 2010. The image below confirms the presence of a camp in this area with what appears to be 23 accommodation huts, nine 4-wheel drive vehicles, and a small structure outside the walls that resembles a storage depot for explosives. Seismic exploration sometimes requires the use of explosives.
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