A Chinese charter plane carrying coffins of 11 Chinese workers
killed in Afghanistan arrived in Nanchang, capital of east China's
Jiangxi
Province Monday night, where 10 of the casualties were
from.
Chinese central government agencies and local governments,
concerned companies, the relatives, Afghan vice-minister for public
works Mohammad Yaqub and Afghan Ambassador to China Qiamuddin Rai
Barlas attended a receiving ceremony at the Changbei Airport.
Sun Gang, vice governor of Jiangxi Province, on behalf of the
Chinese government, expressed condolence to the casualties and
sympathy to the relatives, saying the local government will do its
utmost to help the relatives' living.
Yaqub, on behalf of the Afghan government, appreciated the
Chinese government and Chinese people for their help in the
reconstruction of Afghanistan, saying the terrorists' conspiracy to
ruin the Afghanistan-China friendship will never be success.
Ten of the casualties' remains were transported to the Shangrao
City, the victims' home, after the receiving ceremony. The other
one will be cremated in Nanchang and brought back to his hometown
in east China's Shandong Province by the relatives.
Those workers were killed in a terrorism attack in a project
compound in Jelogir area, 36 kilometers away of Kunduz city in
Afghanistan last Thursday, five others injured.
Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao, Chairman of the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Wu Bangguo and
Premier Wen Jiabao strongly condemned the attack, instructed
related Chinese government agencies to spare no efforts in rescuing
the wounded and help the living of the relatives.
Chinese government departments, involving the Foreign Ministry,
Ministry of Commerce, local governments and concerned companies
have carried out different measures, such as sending working
groups, to deal with the aftermath.
International communities also expressed deep concern over the
incident. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, UN Security Council,
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, French President Jacques Chirac,
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Japanese
Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi strongly condemned the terrorism
attack.
(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2004)