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Nigerien rebel group claims responsibility for kidnapping Chinese |
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09:54, July 08, 2007 |
A Nigerien rebel group claimed responsibility for kidnapping a Chinese company executive in a statement on Saturday, reports reaching here from Niamey said.
The group, named the Movement of Niger People for Justice (MNJ), claimed that the kidnapping was in response to the company''s policy of employing people from the capital rather than locals, according to the Chinese embassy.
The hostage, identified as Zhang Guohua, was a deputy general manager of the Societe Des Mines D''Agelik, a uranium prospecting company floated in Niger by China Nuclear Engineering & Construction (Group) Corporation.
About 20 to 30 rebels attacked Zhang''s vehicle and took him hostage in the region of Agadez, some 1,000 km north of the capital city Niamey, at about 3:40 p.m. local time (1440 GMT) on Friday. His local driver, interpreter and bodyguard were spared, the embassy said.
The Chinese embassy said it had not been contacted by the group, but it vowed to spare no effort to secure the hostage''s release.
The Nigerien government condemned the act in an official statement later Friday.
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