Sudanese hostage takers issue demands to Beijing

Sudanese rebels issued demands to Beijing on Wednesday as conditions for the release of Chinese hostages they have held since Saturday, the Financial Times reported. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) seized 29 Chinese construction workers employed by state-owned Sinohydro (601669.SHA), originally saying they were being held for their own safety. “The SPLM-N calls upon China to contribute to the humanitarian operation and to ask [the] Khartoum government to open safe corridors for humanitarian operations” Yasir Arman, the general secretary of the rebel group said in a statement. “[The] SPLM-N calls again upon China to support the demand of an international investigation on the war crimes against [the] Sudanese people.” China's ambassador to neighboring Ethiopia has met with rebel leaders, and Beijing has sent a delegation to work towards freeing the hostages.