Oil worker shot in attempted highway robbery

AMARA - A Sudanese engineer working for the China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) was shot in Missan province on Jan. 12 when gunmen attacked a convoy transporting oil workers to the airport.

Investigators said the assailants were members of an organized crime group running a kind of highway robbery operation, and did not appear to be targeting oil companies or expats specifically. Nonetheless, the incident highlights the risks foreign companies face because of criminal violence.