Sudanese rebels seize 29 Chinese workers
Source: Agencies |
January 30, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Rebels in Sudan's oil-producing border state of South Kordofan said yesterday that they were holding 29 Chinese workers for "their own safety" after a battle with the Sudanese army.
The army has been fighting rebels of the northern branch of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in South Kordofan bordering newly independent South Sudan since June. Fighting spread to the northern Blue Nile state in September.
"We are holding 29 Chinese workers after a battle with the army yesterday," a spokesman for the SPLM-North said. "They are in good health. We are holding them for their own safety because the army was trying to strike again."
The workers' employer, Power Construction Corp of China, said yesterday that it had launched an emergency response to rescue the missing workers.
Wang Zhiping, a senior executive, said the company had set up an emergency work group to monitor the latest developments and had been in touch with the Foreign Ministry, the Chinese Embassy in Khartoum, and Sudan's government about rescuing the workers.
Wang said the rebels had attacked a unit responsible for a road-building project in Sudan and more than 20 Chinese nationals were missing.
The army said rebels had attacked a compound between the towns of Abbasiya and Rashad in the north of the state and captured 70 civilians.
"Most of them are Chinese. They (the rebels) are targeting civilians," said army spokesman Sawarmi Khalid Saad. He said there had been no battle in the area and the army was now trying to rescue the civilians.
China urged Sudan to guarantee the safety of the Chinese personnel during the search and rescue operation. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the militants attacked on Saturday and Sudanese forces launched a rescue mission yesterday in coordination with the Chinese Embassy in Khartoum.
The ministry's head of consular affairs met the Sudanese ambassador in Beijing and "urged him to actively conduct rescue missions under the prerequisite of ensuring the safety of the Chinese personnel," the statement said.
South Kordofan is the main oil-producing state in Sudan, while Blue Nile is rich in minerals such as chrome.
Fighting in both states has forced about 417,000 people to flee their homes, more than 80,000 of them to South Sudan, according to the United Nations.
Both states contain large groups who sided with the south in a decades-long civil war, and who say they continue to face persecution since South Sudan seceded in July.
The army has been fighting rebels of the northern branch of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in South Kordofan bordering newly independent South Sudan since June. Fighting spread to the northern Blue Nile state in September.
"We are holding 29 Chinese workers after a battle with the army yesterday," a spokesman for the SPLM-North said. "They are in good health. We are holding them for their own safety because the army was trying to strike again."
The workers' employer, Power Construction Corp of China, said yesterday that it had launched an emergency response to rescue the missing workers.
Wang Zhiping, a senior executive, said the company had set up an emergency work group to monitor the latest developments and had been in touch with the Foreign Ministry, the Chinese Embassy in Khartoum, and Sudan's government about rescuing the workers.
Wang said the rebels had attacked a unit responsible for a road-building project in Sudan and more than 20 Chinese nationals were missing.
The army said rebels had attacked a compound between the towns of Abbasiya and Rashad in the north of the state and captured 70 civilians.
"Most of them are Chinese. They (the rebels) are targeting civilians," said army spokesman Sawarmi Khalid Saad. He said there had been no battle in the area and the army was now trying to rescue the civilians.
China urged Sudan to guarantee the safety of the Chinese personnel during the search and rescue operation. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the militants attacked on Saturday and Sudanese forces launched a rescue mission yesterday in coordination with the Chinese Embassy in Khartoum.
The ministry's head of consular affairs met the Sudanese ambassador in Beijing and "urged him to actively conduct rescue missions under the prerequisite of ensuring the safety of the Chinese personnel," the statement said.
South Kordofan is the main oil-producing state in Sudan, while Blue Nile is rich in minerals such as chrome.
Fighting in both states has forced about 417,000 people to flee their homes, more than 80,000 of them to South Sudan, according to the United Nations.
Both states contain large groups who sided with the south in a decades-long civil war, and who say they continue to face persecution since South Sudan seceded in July.
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