950808

China urges end

to military action

in Croatia

BEIJING: China on Tuesday urged the warring sides in Croatia to halt military action and said it hoped for a peaceful settlement through negotiation.

"We are following closely with the recent development of the situation in Croatia," Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang said.

"And we are much concerned about the casualties and the great number of refugees fleeing home as well as the United Nations peacekeepers being attacked, which were caused by the war escalation," he said.

He appealed for an end to the fighting.

"We hope that the parties concerned would stop military actions immediately and, setting the long-term interests of their nations above everything else, settle their disputes through peaceful talks," Shen said. -Reuter