Chinese workers kidnapped in Egypt set free

PanARMENIAN.Net - Twenty-five Chinese kidnapped in Egypt were freed on Wednesday, February 1, a day after they were taken hostage by Bedouin tribesmen, the second kidnapping in days that has sparked worry about Chinese workers in dangerous places.

China had earlier said it was "shocked" by the other abduction, of 29 Chinese workers by rebels in the Sudanese border state of South Kordofan, highlighting growing fears associated with China's expanding global reach.

Bedouin tribesmen kidnapped 24 Chinese cement factory workers and a translator in Egypt's Sinai region on Tuesday and held them for 15 hours.

China's ambassador to Egypt, Song Aiguo, had contacted Egyptian interior and defense officials on Tuesday, urging them to secure the release of the workers, Reuters said quoting Xinhua news agency.

The kidnappers were demanding that authorities free fellow tribesmen from prison, according to tribal sources. Residents of Sinai say they are neglected by the central government in Cairo and have attacked police stations and blocked access to towns, villages and industrial sites to show their discontent. The isolated desert region has descended further into lawlessness since an uprising ousted President Hosni Mubarak a year ago and threw the security apparatus into disarray.