BEIJING - China on Sunday confirmed that a camp belonging to a Chinese company was attacked by rebels in Sudan and several Chinese nationals "have gone missing" following the incident.

The camp was attacked by local militants in the South Kordofan State on Saturday afternoon, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin said in response to a question from the press. Liu did not say how many people went missing.

"The Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy to Sudan have initiated an emergency response to the incident," said the spokesman.

Liu said that the director of the consulate department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned Sudan's Charge d'Affaires in Beijing on Sunday and urged the Sudanese side to search for the missing Chinese nationals.

"Currently, the Sudanese government is doing their utmost to locate and rescue the missing Chinese nationals and has enhanced protection for other Chinese nationals in Sudan," he added.