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29 March 2024

Chinese workers in Egypt freed

Published
By Reuters

Twenty-five Chinese workers were freed on Wednesday a day after they were taken hostage by Bedouin tribesmen in Egypt, Xinhua news agency said, the latest in a series of kidnappings that have sparked concern about the safety of Chinese workers overseas.

China had earlier said declared it was "shocked" by the abduction of 29 Chinese workers held by rebels in the Sudanese border state of South Kordofan, highlighting growing fears over such incidents.

The freed 25 workers "were in good condition", Xinhua said.

Bedouin tribesmen kidnapped the 24 Chinese cement factory workers and a translator in Egypt's Sinai region on Tuesday.

The safety of workers overseas has attracted widespread attention in China where the foreign ministry said people should "improve their risk awareness and strengthen security".

The kidnappings in Sudan and Egypt dramatise China's difficulties with companies and workers who venture into dangerous places generally shunned by Western companies.

A team of officials sent by China to Sudan to seek the release of the 29 workers held there arrived in the capital, Khartoum, on Tuesday.