The government yesterday condemned the killing of four kidnapped Chinese workers in Sudan and urged Khartoum to catch and punish the killers.

Of the nine Chinese oil workers kidnapped earlier this month in Southern Kordofan State - which borders Darfur - four were killed on Monday, four have been rescued and one is missing, the Foreign Ministry said.

"We express strong indignation and condemn the inhumane terrorist act of killing the unarmed Chinese workers," spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular press conference.