World Condemns Killing Of U.N. Observers
Jacob Cherian - All Headline News Staff Writer Rome, Italy (AHN) - Government all over the world reacted with shock and issued angry demands for an explanation on Wednesday following Israel's air strikes that killed four U.N. observers in south Lebanon. U.N. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, suggested that the attack had been "apparently deliberate," to the dismay of Israelis. Annan described the strike as a "coordinated artillery and aerial attack on a long established and clearly marked U.N. post." Foreign Ministers from China, Japan, South Korea and the 10-nation ASEAN bloc reiterated that the strike appeared to be deliberate. Lebanese police said the U.N. observers were killed late on Tuesday in the Israeli bombing of their two-story post in the border town of Khiam. The dead were from Austria, Canada, China and Finland. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed "deep regret" over the killing and told Mr. Annan in a phone call that he U.N. post was hit accidentally. He also instructed the military to carry out a thorough investigation and that the results of the findings would be available to the U.N. Secretary-General. British Prime Minister Tony Blaire's office also released a statement saying that the incident was "deeply regrettable." A spokesman told the AP, "We send our condolences to the families of those killed and the U.N. as a whole."
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