More than 300 Chinese oil workers have arrived in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum after being evacuated from South Sudan due to the growing violence.
Workers at the China National Petroleum Corporation were operating at the Fuluj oil field in South Sudan's Upper Nile state, where the South Sudanese army confirmed clashes had broken out between them and defectors.
The Chinese Ambassador to Sudan, Luo Xiaoguang, welcomed the Chinese workers at Khartoum airport. Luo thanked the Sudanese government for its role in arranging the evacuation of the Chinese workers. Meanwhile, the Ambassador to South Sudan, Ma Qiang, said he has urged the South Sudan government to take measures to protect Chinese people and their property.
"I met with South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and explained China's stance. China hopes that all parties involved in the clashes put the interests of the nation and ethnic first. China also calls for the dispute to be resolved in a peaceful way. China has asked the South Sudan's government to take measures to protect the lives and property of Chinese people in South Sudan. The South Sudan's president has said that they will conduct peace talks and promised that they will make all-out efforts to protect the lives and property of all civilians and Chinese people in South Sudan," Ma says.