Beijing seeks safety for citizens as sectarian violence intensifies
The Chinese government is keeping a wary eye on Iraq and its citizens there
as the security situation in the country deteriorates.
The Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that it has asked Baghdad to increase
security for Chinese citizens in the country.
While some Chinese in Iraq are worried about the fighting between government
and militant forces and are leaving the country, one expert said the Chinese
there are not targets and are safe, at least for now.
On Wednesday, the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant laid
siege to the country's Beiji refinery, the largest oil refinery in Iraq, about
250 km north of Baghdad, The Associated Press reported. The refinery accounts
for about a quarter of the country's refining capacity.
The militants have vowed to march to Baghdad and the Shiite holy cities of
Karbala and Najaf in the worst threat to Iraq's stability since the United
States withdrew its troops in 2011.
A Chinese engineer with China National Petroleum Corp was reported kidnapped
last week at the Halfaya oilfield in southern Iraq by unidentified
militants.
Beijing did not confirm the report, but the Chinese embassy in Baghdad urged
Chinese nationals in the country to stay away from certain areas and issued a
travel advisory for Iraq.
China urged Iraq to reinforce security to protect Chinese citizens and
businesses, and citizens were advised to take precautions, Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at Wednesday's news conference.
"We are concerned about the current situation in Iraq. We do not want it to
turn into another Libya," Hua said. China will make every effort to guarantee
the safety of Chinese nationals as the situation develops, she added.
About 10,000 Chinese people are in Iraq, most working in Chinese
organizations and enterprises. They are mainly in areas that have not witnessed
heavy fighting, Hua said.
Chen Xianzhong, a Chinese businessman in Baghdad, was quoted by Beijing Youth
Daily as saying: "The situation is really not optimistic now. Thousands of
people will die during the conflict." Chen said he has already shut down his
store and hotel in Iraq and decided to return to China.
Yin Gang, an expert on Middle East studies with the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, said that a mass evacuation of Chinese nationals is not necessary now
despite other countries' withdrawing their people.
"The conflicting sides do not seek to undermine the facilities and operation
of the oil fields," Yin said. "Chinese personnel are not likely to become attack
targets in the near future, so overreaction is not necessary."
The Iraqi government is battling to push back militants from Diyala and
Salahuddin provinces after the militants overran the country's second-largest
city, Mosul, last week.