China on Wednesday felt "deeply shocked" by and "strongly
condemned" an Israeli air raid on a United Nations post in south
Lebanon, and urged for an immediate ceasefire.
The air raid killed four UN observers, including one from
China.
"China urges the concerned sides, especially Israel, to take
tangible measures to ensure the security of UN peacekeepers," said
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao on Wednesday.
China has urged the relevant parties back to the negotiation
table to a political solution.
"China will work with the international community, further
diplomatic efforts and push the Middle East situation back to peace
and stability at an early date," Liu said.
"We feel deep sorrow for the victims and convey sincere
condolences to their families," Liu said.
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun made solemn
representations to Israeli Ambassador to China Yehoyada Haim on
Wednesday morning.
"China strongly condemns the activity to raid the UN
peacekeeping post and urges Israel to carry out thorough
investigation and apologize to China and the victim's families and
coordinate with China to deal with the aftermath," Zhao told the
ambassador.
Yehoyada Haim conveyed the Israeli government's apology for the
air strike, pledging to carry out broad and in-depth investigation
to find out what happened at an early date.
Chinese Ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya on Wednesday made an
emergency call to UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown,
asking the UN to require Israel to take every measure to ensure the
security of all UN peacekeepers and investigate the event.
The Chinese peacekeeper killed on Tuesday night was Du
Zhaoyu.
The body of Du has been recovered, according to sources of the
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Milos Struger, spokesman of the UNIFIL, said earlier that an
Israeli bomb directly hit the base of the UN Observer Group in the
town of Khiam near the eastern end of the border with Israel.
The other three UN observers killed were from Finland, Austria
and Canada, UNIFIL sources confirmed.
Other UN-related casualties since Israel launched a massive
military offensive against Lebanon and Hezbollah guerrillas on July
12 include a Nigerian civilian employee working with UNIFIL and his
wife, also a Nigerian, who were caught in a crossfire between
Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerrillas in the southern port city
of Tyre.
Five UNIFIL soldiers and one military observer were also
wounded, Struger said.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was "shocked and deeply
distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli
Defense Forces of a UN Observer post in southern Lebanon."
"This coordinated artillery and aerial attack on a long
established and clearly marked UN post at Khiam occurred despite
personal assurances given to me by (Israeli) Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert that UN positions would be spared Israeli fire," Annan said
in a statement.
"I called on the government of Israel to conduct a thorough
inquiry into this tragic incident and will inform the UN of its
results as soon as possible," he said.
In Jerusalem, Israel expressed regret on Wednesday over the
deaths of four UN observers.
"Israel sincerely regrets the tragic death of the UN personnel
in south Lebanon," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark
Regev.
US Ambassador John Bolton also expressed regret over the deaths
of UN observers.
"We are obviously very sorry about that. We're attempting to get
information where we can to confirm the nature of the incident,"
Bolton said.
Meanwhile, China has evacuated a total of 170 citizens from
Lebanon since Israel launched the massive assault on Lebanon on
July 12, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday night.
The evacuation is almost completed and only a few Chinese
citizens have chosen to stay in Lebanon for various reasons, an
official from the Department of Consular Affairs said on condition
of anonymity.
The official added that the Chinese Embassy officials who
remain, including Ambassador Liu Xianghua, will always be ready to
assist those who have chosen to stay.
(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2006)