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Five abducted Chinese workers rescued in Nigeria

Five Chinese telecommunications workers have been safely rescued in Nigeria after gunmen abducted them nearly two weeks ago in the country's restive oil-producing south, China said yesterday.

"Following efforts, the hostages were all safely rescued on January 17," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site.

"The Chinese government thanks the concerned Nigerian people for their support and help," it said.

The statement provided no details on how the Chinese nationals had been freed.

A medical examination had found all five to be "physically weak but basically in good health" and they were expected to arrive in the Nigerian capital Abuja yesterday, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.

The unidentified gunmen abducted the five on Jan. 5 in the Niger Delta region, an area notorious for kidnappings by separatists seeking a share of its oil wealth.

Nigerian officials said shortly after the Chinese were taken hostage that they had established contact with the gunmen and were negotiating, but did not announce the identity of the abductors or their demands.

The incident had prompted China to lodge a formal complaint with the Nigerian government.

Media reports had previously quoted China's ambassador to Nigeria, Xu Jianguo (徐建國), as saying that the abductees were employees of Sichuan Telecommunications Company.

Italian ANSA news agency reported earlier yesterday that Nigerian militants had also released one of three Italian oil workers taken hostage early last month. The remaining hostages have been reported to be in good health.

Those militants were from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, which had been demanding the release of a separatist leader and a larger share for southern Nigerians in oil revenues.

The movement had denied responsibility for taking the Chinese hostages.

Nine South Koreans and a Nigerian working on an oil pipeline were also released last week after being held hostage by other unnamed militants for two days.

Armed separatists in the delta region last year killed more than 60 foreigners, mostly oil workers. Militants also killed 37 Nigerian troops and dozens of local oil workers.

Nigeria lost more than half a million barrels a day last year because of unrest in the volatile region, President Olusegun Obasanjo said last month.

Beijing has been aggressively courting African countries such as Nigeria, which is the continent's biggest oil producer, in an effort to deepen economic ties.

The diplomatic drive has resulted in China signing billions of dollars worth of deals to buy African oil and gas.
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