| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Africa Horn | |
| China: 29 workers remain captive in Sudan | |
| 2012-02-01 | |
| BEIJING: China's embassy in Sudan said all 29 Chinese workers kidnapped by rebels in the border state of South Kordofan remained in rebel hands, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday, despite a Sudanese report that 14 of them had been freed. The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) said on Sunday it took the 29 workers for their safety after a battle with the Sudanese army. The army has been fighting the SPLM-N in South Kordofan bordering newly independent South Sudan since June. But there was uncertainty about how many of the workers remained with the rebels. Sudan's state SUNA news agency said the Sudanese military had freed 14 of the workers. But on Monday, China's Xinhua news agency and government ministries continued to say 29 workers were abducted, and did not confirm the reported releases. The Chinese embassy in Khartoum said 17 Chinese workers were "moved to a safe place by the Sudan army," but also that the "29 Chinese workers were still held by rebels," Xinhua reported. "The abducted Chinese personnel have had all communications links with the outside world cut," an unidentified Chinese embassy official said, according to an earlier Xinhua report. The fate of the workers has become a major news story in China where the country's expanding presence abroad and awareness of its rising status have brought public sensitivity about nationals killed or taken hostage.
| |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 The fate of the workers has become a major news story in China where the country's expanding presence abroad and awareness of its rising status have brought public sensitivity about nationals killed or taken hostage. Funny, they never seem to care when it happens in Pakistan. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2012-02-01 14:54 |