Reuters AlertNet Lite - Chinese hostages return home from Ethiopia ordeal

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Chinese hostages return home from Ethiopia ordeal

02 May 2007 11:53:33 GMT
Source: Reuters

BEIJING, May 2 (Reuters) - Seven Chinese oil workers kidnapped in Ethiopia arrived safely in Beijing on Wednesday, state media reported, after surviving the worst attack to date on China's growing interests in Africa.

The group was seized by gunmen from the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) in raid on an oilfield in the barren eastern Ogaden region that killed 65 Ethiopians and another nine Chinese.

The workers, from an exploration bureau of Sinopec, China's biggest refiner, were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ethiopia and arrived in Beijing tired but in good health, Xinhua news agency reported.

They were expected to return to their homes in the central province of Henan within the next two days, the report said.

Xinhua cited Wang Shengwen, head of the Chinese team sent to secure the workers' release, as saying their rescue was due to "some friendly African countries" who helped contact the rebel ONLF. He did not elaborate.

A spokesman for the ONLF, which has been fighting for independence from Ethiopia since 1984, said earlier this week it did not mean to take the Chinese hostage, but that they were caught up in the battle with Ethiopian troops guarding the oil facility.

China buys oil and minerals from Africa to fuel its booming economy and it is increasingly being caught up in the region's politics and conflicts as its economic interests grow.

Several Chinese oil workers were taken hostage in Nigeria earlier this year. They were also released unharmed.

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Last updated:Wed May 2 11:57:11 2007