Society

Troops seeking kidnapped Chinese in Chad

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-09-15 14:52

KHARTOUM - The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced on Wednesday that units of the Joint Sudanese-Chadian Forces were seeking at the border areas a Chinese oil worker kidnapped in eastern Chad.

SAF spokesman al-Sawarmi Khaled told Xinhua that the SAF had received "preliminary information" which indicated that a Chinese oil worker was kidnapped in Chad neighboring the restive western Sudanese region of Darfur, adding that the information had not been officially confirmed.

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"Preliminary information indicated the abduction of the Chinese worker in Chad, but until now we do not have detailed information on the circumstances of the incident and the location of the abduction," said Khaled.

"We are still at the stage of gathering information to confirm the incident. There are joint military units currently combing the border line between Sudan and Chad to know the place of the abducted worker," he added.

But the Chinese Embassy to Chad confirmed on Wednesday that a Chinese worker was adducted in Chad days ago.

Chinese Ambassador to Chad Yang Guangyue told Xinhua that the Chinese worker from the Chinese construction company CGCOC was kidnapped two or three days before September 8 while he was on his way to a construction site in Iriba in northern Chad.

Ambassador Yang said the worker was only confirmed to be kidnapped on September 8, days after his company lost contact with him.

The Chinese Embassy has since followed the situation closely and coordinated with the Chad authorities in a search and rescue operation, the ambassador added.

Similar incidents earlier took place on the border line between Sudan, Chad and Central Africa Republic where unidentified groups previously abducted foreign relief workers in Chad and transported them to Sudan's western region of Darfur.

The Joint Sudanese-Chadian Forces were established by the two countries' governments in February this year to curb the border areas, which had been used by rebels from both sides to launch armed attacks.