China will send a chartered plane on Monday to evacuate Chinese nationals in riot-torn East Timor. Some 200 citizens have sought shelter at the embassy.

"As the situation in East Timor is deteriorating and some people have been killed or injured, the Chinese government will on Monday send a chartered plane to evacuate Chinese citizens there," according to a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The evacuees are expected to arrive in Xiamen, a coastal city in east China's Fujian Province, on Monday night.

Violence erupted in East Timor late last month after the East Timorese government decided to sack almost half of the country's soldiers who had protested against poor conditions and staged a strike.

The situation deteriorated on Thursday when at least nine people were killed and 27 others wounded in clashes.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday that "no Chinese citizen has so far been injured or killed in the violence".

There are about 500 Chinese citizens in East Timor, and many have already left, the ministry said.

The ministry will send a team to facilitate the evacuation mission.

On April 25, the ministry issued an advisory against traveling to East Timor.

"Chinese citizens in East Timor shall pay high attention to their safety, make emergency preparations and maintain contact with the Chinese Embassy," according to another travel advisory posted on Thursday on the ministry's website.

By Saturday, nearly 200 Chinese citizens had sought shelter at the embassy where they were given tents, food, water, medicine and other essentials.

As a result of the escalating violence, East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao decided to postpone his China visit, which was originally scheduled for May 29 to June 3.

It is reported that several other countries including the Philippines have also started evacuating their citizens from East Timor.

East Timor, which shares a land border with Indonesia's West Timor, was a Portuguese colony before it was occupied by Indonesia in 1976. The country gained independence in May 2002 after 25 years of Indonesian rule to become the world's newest nation.

(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2006)