Kidnapped Chinese turned over to Red Cross

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Sudanese rebels released 29 Chinese construction workers kidnapped last month and the Red Cross said the workers were flown to Nairobi, Kenya.

"The International Committee of the Red Cross arranged for 29 Chinese citizens released by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North to be transferred to Nairobi, Kenya, today [Tuesday]," the humanitarian group said in a statement.

Christoph Luedi, the Red Cross' Kenya head, said the group assisted in the release effort after all parties concerned "accepted its offer to serve as a neutral intermediary." He said the Red Cross, however, did not take part in the negotiations.

The Chinese workers were taken aboard a Red Cross plane to Nairobi where they were handed over to Chinese Embassy officials.

The workers were part of a group of 47 Chinese workers abducted Jan. 28 from a work site in Sudan's South Kordofan state near the border with the newly independent South Sudan.

Another 17 workers escaped and were later rescued by Sudanese soldiers, Chinese media has reported.

The body of an 18th worker, reported missing earlier, was later found and handed over to Chinese authorities. China said the worker died during the attack.

The Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement-North, which has been fighting in Sudan, reportedly has links to South Sudan, which became independent last July after years civil war with the north.

Qiu Xuejun, head of the Chinese team who took part in the release effort, said the abducted workers were generally in sound physical condition and that they would be flown home after a brief stay in Kenya.

China's official Xinhua News Agency said the release of its 29 workers, including two women, came after "a stream of intensive rescue efforts carried out by the Chinese government in collaboration with the Sudanese government, the ICRC and other parties."

The New York Times reported a spokesman for the Sudanese Foreign Ministry implied South Sudan had helped in the release effort.

The Times said China has long been a supporter of Sudan and South Sudan. The two countries are now involved in a dispute over sharing the region's oil wealth.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry late Tuesday expressed appreciation and gratitude to all involved in the rescue effort, including Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and the United Nations.