Incident concern: 29 Chinese abducted in Sudan
The Chinese embassy in Khartoum confirmed with the Global Times Sunday that 29 Chinese workers had been seized by rebels in Sudan's South Kordofan State, and the motives behind the capture were still unclear.
"We managed to contact the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) through unofficial means and were told that 29 Chinese workers were in their hands," an official at the embassy said on condition of anonymity.
"The workers were from a construction site contracted by the Sinohydro Cooperation. The company told us the number of missing workers was 27," the official said, adding that the rebels neither revealed their motives nor asked for a ransom.
Another 18 Chinese employees were dispersed during the rebels' assault, and they are now in a "safe side," he added.
The SPLM-N said Sunday they had seized the Chinese workers after a battle with government forces Saturday.
"They are in good health. We are holding them for their own safety because the army was trying to strike again," a spokesman of the rebels told Reuters.
The Sudanese army said rebels had attacked the compound of a Chinese construction company operating in the area 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," army spokesman Sawarmi Khalid Saad said, adding that there had been no battle in the area, and the army was now trying to rescue the civilians.
Beijing has urged the Sudanese side to search for the missing Chinese nationals, said foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin.
"Currently, the Sudanese government is doing its utmost to locate and rescue the missing Chinese nationals and has enhanced protection for other Chinese nationals in Sudan," Liu said.
China is the largest foreign investor in Sudan, which attracts the biggest Chinese investment in Africa.
"A large part of Chinese overseas investments is still concentrated in undeveloped and developing areas. The problem is that Chinese companies rely too much on the protection of host nations while lacking up-to-date risk analysis and response mechanisms," said He Wenping, deputy director of West Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"Besides increasing alertness and strengthening coordination with local governments, it's time for Chinese companies to consider inviting private security companies to guarantee the safety of their overseas investments," He said.
Agencies contributed to this story