KUALA LUMPUR, 8 FEBRUARY, 2012: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said today that it has arranged the transfer of 29 Chinese citizens released by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) to Nairobi, Kenya.

    
"The ICRC assisted in this operation on humanitarian grounds, after all the parties concerned accepted its offer to serve as a neutral intermediary," said Christoph Leudi, head of the ICRC delegation in Nairobi, in a statement.
      
Reports said the workers were held captive for 10 days by rebels in Sudan's South Kordofan region before their release Tuesday.
      
They travelled on board an ICRC aircraft from South Kordofan, Sudan, to Nairobi, where the ICRC placed them in the care of representatives of the Chinese Embassy.
      
The ICRC said that it provided transportation, but did not take part in the negotiations that led to the release.
      
"It stands ready to provide support for any similar operation in the future if the parties ask it to do so," the Geneva-based organisation said.
    

- Bernama