Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday expressed his "deep condolences"
over the death of a Chinese UN observer killed in an Israeli air raid on a UN
post in south Lebanon, according to a statement from Chinese Foreign Ministry.
President Hu "demanded the Chinese departments concerned properly handle the
aftermath of the incident and take every measure necessary to ensure the safety
of Chinese nationals in Lebanon," said the statement.
The air raid on early Wednesday killed four UN observers, including one from
China. The other three were from Finland, Austria and Canada, UN Interim Force
in Lebanon (UNIFIL) sources confirmed.
"After being informed of the tragic death of the Chinese peacekeeper early
this morning, President Hu had instructed the departments concerned to condemn
the attack on UN peacekeepers and expressed his deep condolences on the victims
and sincere sympathy for their families," it said.
The Chinese victim named Du Zhaoyu, a Lieutenant Colonel of the Chinese
People's Liberation Army with a postgraduate degree, was born in Jinan, capital
of east China's Shandong Province. He was sent to Lebanon in January this year
as a UN observer.
Du had worked as secretary to the military attache in the Chinese embassy in
India. Du is survived by his wife, who also serves in the Chinese military, and
a one-year-old son.
China on Wednesday felt "deeply shocked" by and "strongly condemned" an
Israeli air raid and urged for immediate ceasefire.
"China urges the concerned sides, especially Israel, to take tangible
measures to ensure the security of UN peacekeepers," said Foreign Ministry
spokesman Liu Jianchao Wednesday.
He called on concerned sides back to the track of talks to seek 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.
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun called in Israeli Ambassador
Yehoyada Haim Wednesday morning and made solemn representations.
"China strongly condemns the activity to raid the UN peacekeeping post and
urges Israel to carry out a thorough investigation and apologize to China and
the victim's families, and coordinate with China to deal with the aftermath,"
Zhao told the ambassador.
Israel has intensified its air raids on Lebanese targets since launching a
massive assault on July 12 when Lebanon's Hezbollah guerillas kidnapped two
Israeli soldiers and killed eight in cross-border attacks.
Over 350 Lebanese and 42 Israelis have been killed in the two-week conflicts.
Some 180 Chinese staff officers, engineers as well as three observers,
including Du, were working in Lebanon, as part of the UN peacekeeping mission,
according to diplomatic sources.
"Since the armed conflicts broke out in mid-July, President Hu has made quite
a few instructions, requiring the related departments to ensure the safety of
the Chinese people in Lebanon, " according to the statement.
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 safety of UN peacekeepers, including
those from China, and look into the incident.
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.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement that he was "shocked and
deeply distressed" by the attack, saying it's "apparently deliberate targeting
by Israeli Defense Forces."
In Jerusalem, Israel expressed regret on Wednesday over the deaths of four UN
observers in south Lebanon.
"Israel sincerely regrets the tragic death of the UN personnel in south
Lebanon," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev.
