Twelve Chinese soldiers serving as peacekeepers in conflict-strewn Sudan greeted the three caskets, draped in Chinese flags, as they were carried off a Sudanese cargo plane on the shoulders of oil workers.

The killings, the first in a foreign hostage ordeal in Sudan in recent memory, has embarrassed the government, which has vowed to boost security for the country's crucial oil industry.

The circumstances surrounding their deaths in South Kordofan on Monday are murky. A Darfur rebel group denied Sudanese claims it was responsible, and official death tolls from China and Sudan fail to match up.

The Khartoum government initially said five of nine Chinese oil workers kidnapped on October 18 were shot dead on Monday, that two "escaped" with minor injuries and that two remained captive.

On Tuesday, China's foreign ministry said four workers were killed, four "rescued" and one was missing.

But Mutrif Sadiq, the undersecretary at the Sudanese foreign ministry, told reporters the whereabouts of three remaining Chinese hostages was unknown and that it was not known whether they were dead or alive.

Neither is it clear whether the three wounded Chinese had managed to escape or were somehow liberated. One of them was wounded by an axe.

Sudan denies any confrontation between security forces and the kidnappers.

Sadiq said the kidnappers opened fire after seeing a Sudanese helicopter flying overhead.

But one local leader said the Chinese died as a result of fighting between the Sudanese army and the kidnappers.

Beijing condemned the killings as an "inhumane terrorist" act, but indicated that its involvement in the country, where China is the biggest exporter of oil and a key investor, would not change.

"We express strong indignation and condemnation for the inhumane terrorist deed of the kidnappers in killing these unarmed workers," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.

"In the future we will continue to value and implement a friendly policy towards Sudan," she added.

The Chinese ambassador to Khartoum, who accompanied the bodies back to the capital, told reporters information was still being gathered and that China would wait for the outcome of a Sudanese government investigation.

Arrangements will be made for repatriation after formal identification at a military hospital, officials said.

The three engineers and six other workers from the China National Petroleum Corp worked in an oil-rich area of South Kordofan, on the fault line between former warring north and south Sudan.

Diplomats said they were taken by Arab tribesmen but Khartoum blamed the strongest Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

Sudan vowed to step up security for the oil industry, the economic lifeline that has fuelled a long-standing boom in Khartoum, despite massive disparities in development across a country where millions still live in poverty.

"Such ugly acts are against the values of the Sudanese people. The Sudanese authorities will spare no efforts to protect the workers in the oil fields and all investments in Sudan," said foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadiq.

JEM, which seeks to represent the dispossessed across Sudan, not just in the war-torn western region of Darfur, denied involvement in the kidnappings.

"Some of the Messeria people are affiliated to us. Some of them may take actions but not in the name of JEM," said Tahir el-Faki, a London-based official of the movement.

Laura James, Sudan analyst from the Economist Intelligence Unit in London, warned that the killings could have an adverse effect on oil exploration.

"The official line is that the killings won't affect the hunt for oil. I think that unlikely -- there are already some indications that oil investment is lagging due to security concerns over relations with local communities. We could now begin to see a sharper decline," she said.

Darfur rebels have kidnapped oil workers, often targeting Chinese companies because of their strong ties with Khartoum, although all emerged unscathed.

The Messeria were blamed for kidnapping four Indian oil workers and their Sudanese driver in the same area in May. All five escaped or were released.

related report
China condemns 'inhumane terrorist' killings in Sudan
China on Tuesday condemned the killing of four kidnapped Chinese oil workers in Sudan as an "inhumane terrorist" act, but indicated that its involvement in the war-torn country would not change.

"We express strong indignation and condemnation for the inhumane terrorist deed of the kidnappers in killing these unarmed Chinese workers," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.

Sudan's government originally said Darfur rebels on Monday shot and killed five kidnapped oil workers and that two others escaped with gunshot wounds.

But China's foreign ministry revised the death toll late on Tuesday, saying only four workers had been killed, four rescued and one was missing.

The nine workers from the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) were snatched on October 18 in Korodofan outside Darfur, a region of western Sudan that has been the scene of a nearly six-year war.

China is the main buyer of Sudan's oil, a key economic investor and perhaps Khartoum's most powerful foreign ally.

This has drawn criticism in the West that China has not done enough to help bring an end to the conflict in Darfur and on occasions shielded the Khartoum government from international pressure.

Jiang said China would maintain strong ties with Sudan's government, despite the killings.

"In the future China and Sudan will continue to conduct cooperation in a wide range of fields," she said.

The circumstances surrounding the deaths of the workers are still unclear.

Sudan has denied that there were any clashes between security forces and the kidnappers, insisting the government had been trying to resolve the issue through peaceful means.

But one local leader denied the official version of events, telling AFP that there had been fighting between the Sudanese army and the kidnappers.

Jiang Tuesday said the workers were "killed during rescue efforts by Sudan," but it was unclear whether she meant they died in direct clashes or while the Sudanese government was working to resolve the issue.

She urged Sudan to continue rescue work for the missing.

"We request Sudan to ensure the safety of the missing while conducting rescue efforts, bring the murderers to justice and take all necessary measures to protect the lives and property of our people in Sudan," she said.

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