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Five Chinese oil workers who were abducted in Sudan nine days ago have been killed, according to Sudan's foreign ministry. They were part of a group of nine Chinese workers kidnapped from an oil field in the Kordofan district of Sudan.
The foreign ministry also stated that two of the remaining four were injured but in government hands after escaping, and the other two were still being held captive by their kidnappers. The Sudanese government has said that the blame for the kidnappings lies with rebels from Darfur region, which borders Kordofan.
A spokesman from the foreign ministry said the kidnappers belonged to 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 region but had nothing to do with the kidnappings.
A local driver who had been captured along with the Chinese workers was later freed by the kidnappers with a note saying they wanted a share in the oil wealth of the region.
The Chinese oil workers were employed by the China National Petroleum Corporation, part of a group of businesses making up the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC). The men were taken from an oil field in Abyei district, which the GNPOC has been developing in Southern Kordofan state.
It is the third occasion in the last year that oil workers have been kidnapped in the energy-rich region. China is one of the main buyers of oil from Sudan and has made substantial investments in the country's oil infrastructure.
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