China sees second mass kidnapping in Africa

More than 20 Chinese construction workers were kidnapped by Bedouin tribesmen in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, only three days after 29 Chinese were captured in Sudan last Saturday, the Financial Times reported, citing state media. The Bedouins said they would release the Chinese workers only when the government released five detainees who were arrested between 2004 and 2006 as part of investigation by the former government of Hosni Mubarak into bombings at the tourist resorts on Sinai’s Red Sea coast. The new military council promised to release the detainees after ousting Mubarak but have yet to do so; in the period since Mubarak’s downfall, the Sinai Peninsula has become increasingly lawless. China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of the incident in Sinai, though CCTV said the Chinese embassy had taken emergency measures.