Bulgaria says six nationals working for U.N. taken captive by rebels in Sudan

(Reuters) - A Sudanese rebel group has taken six Bulgarians working with the UN's World Food Programme captive after their helicopter was forced to land in war-torn South Kordofan province in southern Sudan, the Bulgarian foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Fighting between the government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, which the ministry said was holding the Bulgarians captive, has increased in the provinces of South Kordofan and Blue Nile since peace talks collapsed in December.

(Writing by Shadi Bushra; Editing by Hugh Lawson)