Sudan rebels capture 29 Chinese workers

Rebels in Sudan’s South Kordofan state have captured 29 Chinese workers after a battle with government forces, a spokesman for the insurgents said yesterday.
Nine members of the Sudan Armed Forces are also being held, Arnu Ngutulu Lodi of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), told AFP in Khartoum .
He said the Chinese have not been kidnapped and none was wounded, adding “they are in safe hands.”
Along with the Sudanese, they were captured on Saturday when the rebels destroyed a Sudanese military convoy between Rashad town and Al-Abbasiya in the northeast of the province, which has been at war since June.
Chinese were working mainly on road construction in the area and are now being held in the Nuba mountains “until further notice” because of the security situation.
“Today is a little bit calm but we are expecting at any time SAF may launch an attack on us,” he said.
Spokesmen for the Sudanese army and the Chinese embassy could not be immediately reached for comment.
China is a major military supplier to the regime in Khartoum, and the largest buyer of Sudanese oil.