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China hostages 'killed in Sudan' | China hostages 'killed in Sudan' |
(20 minutes later) | |
Five Chinese oil workers kidnapped in Sudan nine days ago have been killed, Sudan's foreign ministry has said. | Five Chinese oil workers kidnapped in Sudan nine days ago have been killed, Sudan's foreign ministry has said. |
The five were part of a group of nine Chinese workers seized from an oil field in Kordofan in central Sudan. | The five were part of a group of nine Chinese workers seized from an oil field in Kordofan in central Sudan. |
The foreign ministry said two of the group were wounded but in government hands after escaping, and two were still held by their kidnappers. | The foreign ministry said two of the group were wounded but in government hands after escaping, and two were still held by their kidnappers. |
The Sudanese government has blamed rebels from Darfur region, which borders Kordofan, for the kidnapping. | The Sudanese government has blamed rebels from Darfur region, which borders Kordofan, for the kidnapping. |
Oil wealth | |
Foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig said the kidnappers were from the Darfur rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). | Foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig said the kidnappers were from the Darfur rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). |
"This was done with direct instructions from the Justice and Equality Movement," he said. | |
JEM has said it has forces in the area but was not involved in seizing the Chinese. | |
The kidnappers later released a local driver kidnapped with the Chinese with a note saying they wanted a share in the region's oil wealth. | |
The Chinese were employees of the China National Petroleum Corporation, part of a consortium making up the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC). | |
The men were seized from an oil field in Abyei district, in Kordofan state, which the GNPOC has been exploiting. | |
It is the third time in the last year that oil workers have been abducted in the energy-rich region. | |
China is a key purchaser of Sudanese oil and has been investing heavily in the country's oil infrastructure. | China is a key purchaser of Sudanese oil and has been investing heavily in the country's oil infrastructure. |