Nine Chinese oil workers who were kidnapped last week by an armed group in Nigeria, were released safely on Sunday morning, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

 

The nine were set free at 6:35 AM (Beijing time) following 11 days of tough diplomatic efforts, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement.

 

The released workers will return to China soon, she added.

 

A Chinese oil company compound was attacked by an unidentified armed group in southern Nigeria on Jan. 25. Nine workers were kidnapped and the others moved to a safe place.

 

The Chinese government showed deep concern about the workers and demanded relevant departments investigate the case and go all out to rescue the kidnapped workers, said Jiang.

 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, together with the Ministry of Commerce and Chinese diplomatic missions in Nigeria and elsewhere, had worked with the Chinese company to carry out the rescue work, according to Jiang.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2007)