LEAD: Sudan rebels free 29 Chinese workers

Feb 7, 2012, 11:32 GMT

Beijing - Sudanese rebels have released 29 Chinese workers who were kidnapped on January 28 in the South Kordofan area, Chinese state media said on Tuesday.

'The 29 Chinese workers kidnapped last month in Sudan have boarded a plane chartered by the International Committee of the Red Cross after being released to ICRC representatives,' the official Xinhua news agency reported.

It said the release followed 'intensive rescue efforts carried out by the Chinese government in collaboration with the Sudanese government and other parties.'

Earlier Tuesday it quoted Chinese officials in Sudan as saying they had received the body of another missing worker who died following the attack at a road construction site by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.

It quoted Isam Awad Mutwalli, a China specialist at Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as saying the attack was a lone incident that 'will not recur.'

'We pledge to enhance the security measures to protect and secure all the Chinese companies operating in Sudan,' the official said.

China's Foreign Ministry said Monday that it was 'using multiple channels and making every possible effort' to secure the release of the kidnapped workers.

A total of 18 Chinese workers escaped following the attack, but the worker who died was reportedly shot by rebels during an operation by Sudanese troops to move the workers to a safer location.

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