China calls for immediate ceasefire in Libya

China today called for an immediate ceasefire in Libya, where a United Nations “no-fly zone” is being enforced. After abstaining last week from the U.N. Security Council vote on military action, the Chinese government says it wants immediate talks to end the violence.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said China is deeply concerned about civilian casualities caused by the air strikes and warned of a humanitarian disaster. She said the original intent in passing the Security Council mandate was to protect the safety of the Libyan people.
But she said Beijing opposes, what she described as an abuse use of force and the unnecessary use of violence that could result in additional civilian casualities.
The spokeswoman said the military action will cause a bigger humanitarian crisis and said China has serious reservations about parts of the U.N. resolution. Jiang said China always opposed the use of force in international relations.