Chinese civilians flee Syria as Beijing calls for restraint
China says military intervention in the crisis would only worsen turmoil in Middle East
With US warships poised to punish Syria for allegedly using chemical weapons, the few Chinese civilians and company employees still in the country are fleeing and China's foreign minister and state media have warned against the use of force and called for a political solution.
"Currently there are only about 10 to 20 Chinese nationals still in Syria, excluding diplomats and journalists," China Business News quoted a Chinese diplomat as saying yesterday.
The diplomat said "a few remaining staff with one or two Chinese state-owned companies" were expected to leave as well. Xinhua quoted a trade official as saying that Chinese oil companies had also withdrawn their staff.
Russia is moving two warships to the eastern Mediterranean, Interfax news agency said yesterday, but Moscow denied this meant it was beefing up its naval force there.
A missile cruiser from the Black Sea Fleet and a large anti-submarine ship from the Northern Fleet would be deployed in the "coming days". But a Russian navy official said it was part of a "planned rotation".
US President Barack Obama said he had yet to sign off on a plan to strike Damascus even as Britain sent six RAF Typhoon jets to its Akrotiri base in Cyprus. "I have not made a decision," Obama told PBS NewsHour.
