Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North

Six Bulgarian U.N. aid workers who were detained by rebels in Sudan's strife-torn South Kordofan region have been released, the Bulgarian foreign ministry said on Jan. 31.

"They are in good health and are in a safe place with a team of the United Nations (World) Food Program," foreign ministry spokeswoman Betina Zhoteva said. 

The Bulgarian citizens held in Sudan are alive and well and are not taken hostage, said Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov in a speech at the Bulgarian National Assembly.