Chinese embassy staff wake to predawn air strikes on Damascus
Mission says 83 nationals and ‘overseas Chinese’ safe and sound after US-led bombing raids
Workers at the Chinese embassy in the Syrian capital were woken by the sounds of bombing before dawn on Saturday, but there were no reports of anyone being injured, according to an official at the scene.
“I clearly heard the explosions and saw the smoke rising from numerous locations in downtown Damascus,” Ma Xuliang, the embassy’s political counsellor, told the South China Morning Post.
The US-led air strikes started about 4am and lasted for more than an hour, he said.
Ma said that no one working at the mission had been hurt, but that the situation was being closely monitored and preparations had been made to evacuate people if necessary.
“As of this moment, none of the 83 Chinese, including embassy staff, citizens and overseas Chinese, in Syria have been hurt or killed,” he said over the telephone.
“The embassy [building] remains intact and we are keeping a close eye on things … but at as we stand, the situation is not bad enough for us to withdraw the Chinese nationals,” the official said.