China has sent a Foreign Ministry-led working group to Sudan to assist the rescue of 29 Chinese workers abducted by local rebel forces, who claim to be holding them for their own safety since clashes with government forces over the weekend.

Members of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council are also part of the group that left Beijing on Monday night, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin said Tuesday.

A group of 47 Chinese workers were separated on Saturday while working on a multi-million dollar road project in Sudan's South Kordofan state, where clashes between the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N) and the Sudanese army have been ongoing for months.

The Sudanese army found 17 workers and transferred them to safety. One Chinese worker reportedly suffered gunshot wounds and remains missing, according to the Global Times newspaper.

Sudan's SUNA news agency on Monday said 14 of the 29 workers held by the rebels had been released by the Sudanese military, but the news has not been confirmed by the Chinese side.

The rebels have said they mean no harm and the workers are in good hands.

Liu, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, on Tuesday urged the safety and release of the Chinese personnel.