CAIRO: At least 25 Chinese workers at a cement factory in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula were kidnapped on Tuesday by local Bedouin tribesmen in the area, security sources said. According to al-Ahram newspaper, the tribes are demanding that Bedouin being held by the Egyptian government be released before the workers are freed. “We will not release the Chinese until our demand for the release of these sons of Sinai are met,” said one of the Bedouin anonymously to al-Ahram. Security sources said the Chinese workers were en route to a Sinai cement factory when they were stopped and taken to a nearby tent. Bedouin reportedly said they would block the area until their demands are met. The Bedouin being demanded release are a number of men who had been arrested during the security sweep of Sinai between 2004 and 2006 after a string of bomb attacks left more than 100 people dead. The Egyptian government arrested scores of young Bedouin men as a result, and human rights groups reported widespread torture in an effort to have the men confess to the attacks. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/w49qr Tags: Bedouin, China, featured, Sinai, Workers Section: East Asia, Egypt, Latest News
