Rebels free Chinese oil workers in Ethiopia

Seven Chinese oil workers and two Africans were released yesterday by an Ethiopian rebel group that attacked a Chinese oil exploration facility last week.

"They've been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross," Patrick Megevand, a spokesman for the ICRC in Ethiopia, said. The Red Cross was still in the process of transporting the men to a safe location before handing them over to Ethiopian and Chinese authorities, he added.

One of the civilians released was believed to be Ethiopian, while the nationality of the other African was not immediately known. The rebel group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, said all of the Chinese citizens were in good health and had been treated well. The group, which is made up of ethnic Somalis from the Ogaden region, says it is fighting for self-determination.

The front attacked the Chinese-owned oil exploration field on 24 April, killing 65 Ethiopians and nine Chinese.