CHINA / National

3 Chinese UN peacekeepers injured in South Lebanon
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-08-07 06:26

Three Chinese UN peacekeepers were lightly injured by a rocket that landed at their post in southern Lebanon on Sunday, a Chinese UN peacekeeper confirmed.

Luo Fuqiang, head of the Chinese contingent with the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), told Xinhua that at 11:40 a.m. local time (0840 GMT),an Israeli army unit passed by a village some 500 meters away from the Chinese contingent headquarters in Henniyeh village, south of port of Tyre.

Then, a Hezbollah rocket hit the Chinese contingent headquarters at 11:55 am local time (0855 GMT), causing three peacekeepers lightly injured, he said.

The three injured received medical treatment immediately at a hospital inside the headquarters and their condition was stable, he added.

On Sunday, China demanded Israel and Lebanon ensure the safety of UN peacekeepers as three of its UN peacekeepers in Lebanon were wounded.

"China is seriously concerned and strongly displeased with the incident," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement.

He said China has made representations with the parties involved in the Lebanon-Israel clash and demanded they take concrete measures to ensure the safety of UN peacekeepers.

Earlier Sunday, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, who is on a visit to Papua New Guinea, told UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in a phone conversation the United Nations should take tangible measures to ensure the security of UN peacekeepers

The Chinese foreign minister also called on the UN Security Council to take actions to prevent the conflict from further spread.

A Chinese national named Du Zhaoyu was among the four UN observers killed in an Israeli airs strike against a UN position in the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on July 25.

 
 

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