Five Chinese workers abducted in southwest Sudan by local militants this month have been killed by the kidnappers, officials of the Chinese embassy in Sudan said on Monday.

The Chinese embassy has learnt from the Sudanese authorities on Monday that among the nine Chinese workers abducted on October 19, five had been killed, two had gone missing and the two others had escaped the danger.

The Chinese embassy strongly condemned the killing, and was keeping contacts with the Sudanese authorities for more information about the incident, according to the Chinese officials.

The embassy also asked Sudan to continue the operation of searching the two missing Chinese workers, urging Sudan government to take all the necessary measures to safeguard the Chinese citizens in Sudan.

The circumstances surrounding the deaths were shadowy and Sudan denied that there had been any clashes between security forces and the kidnappers, who reportedly identified themselves as the Justice and Equality Movement.

“It happened around 3:00 pm (1200 GMT). Those people from JEM killed five Chinese and two of the Chinese workers managed to escape. They are now with the government,” foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadiq told AFP.

The killings came one day after Sudan expressed confidence that the three engineers and six workers from the China National Petroleum Corporation, would soon be released safe and well.

The bodies and the two wounded former hostages were recovered by Sudanese government forces in a small village in western Kordofan, and the injured are undergoing medical treatment, the spokesman said.

“This happened without any confrontation with the abductors, while the government was trying to solve the problem through peaceful means,” said Sadiq.