Beijing (dpa) – Rebels in Sudan's South Kordofan area have seized more than 20 Chinese employees of a road construction company, China's Foreign Ministry and state media reported Sunday. The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement said it was holding 29 Chinese citizens following an attack on the company's camp in South Kordofan on Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency quoted a spokesman for the group as saying. China on Sunday asked the Sudanese government to expedite a rescue operation and prioritize the safety of the Chinese citizens, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its official website. The Chinese embassy in Khartoum confirmed that more than 20 Chinese nationals were missing, the agency reported. “The abducted Chinese workers “have been transported to a safe area and they are in good health and in safe hands,” it quoted Arno Taloudy, the spokesman for the rebels, as saying by telephone from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. “Armed clashes took place between our forces and the Sudanese army at an area near Al-Abbasiya Tagali town in South Kordofan,” the agency quoted him as saying. “We have controlled the area and 29 Chinese were held.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/vO6mr Tags: China, Kidnap, Rebels Section: East Asia, Latest News, Sudan
