Ethiopia rebels say no plans to keep Chinese hostages

ADDIS ABABA, Apr 26 (Reuters) Ethiopian rebels who killed 74 people and seized seven Chinese workers in an attack on an oilfield today said they had no plans to hold the foreigners.

But a London-based spokesman for the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which claimed responsibility for the raid, gave no details about when the Chinese would be freed.

''We do not want to keep any hostage,'' he told Radio France Internationale, saying no ransom demands had been made. ''We do not want any Chinese in the Ogaden without our consent.'' The separatist rebels, who have been fighting the government since 1984, stormed the oilfield in Ethiopia's barren southeast region today, killing 65 Ethiopians and 9 Chinese in one of the worst attacks yet on Beijing's growing interests in Africa.

The ONLF has repeatedly warned energy companies they will not allow oil and gas exploration in the area as long as the Ogaden people are ''denied their rights to self-determination''.

Last year it told a state-run Indian company vying for a gas concession to drop its plans.

China has condemned the killings of staff working for Zhongyuan Petrouleum Exploration Bureau, part of the larger China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec).

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said China had sent foreign and commerce ministry officials as well as Sinopec representatives to Ethiopia.

Chinese diplomats were also helping efforts to secure the release of the kidnapped staff, he said, adding that China was evaluating the safety of its workers overseas.

''In response to these recent incidents concerning the safety of Chinese personnel, the relevant departments are carrying out an assessment of safety abroad,'' Liu told a news conference.

Ethiopia renewed its vow to hunt down the rebels it says are terrorists supported by Horn of Africa rival Eritrea.

Asmara denies the allegations, accusing Addis Ababa of trying to divert attention from the two nations' border dispute.

''The defence forces are in hot pursuit to apprehend ONLF criminals who committed this heinous crime,'' Ethiopian Foreign Affairs spokesman Ambassador Soloman Abebe told Reuters.

''We will bring them to justice.'' Reuters JS RN1725