End Libya violence immediately: Russia,China

'Reports of Libyan civilian casualties from military action are very disturbing.'

China and Russia have called for an immediate ceasefire in Libya expressing concern over civilian casualties in the military strikes by allied forces in areas controlled by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. China noticed reports of civilian casualties from the multinational military action against Libya and is very concerned with this, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a news briefing.

We urge both sides to do everything to end the violence, Russia defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov told visiting US Defence Secretary Robert Gates after closed-door talks with him. He added that Moscow believed Libyan civilians had been killed in the Western air strikes.

Both the countries,along with India,Brazil,and South Africa,abstained from last weeks UN Security Council vote approving international military involvement in Libya,which aims to protect civilians against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.

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China is opposed to abuse of force causing more civilian casualties.

According to reports from Libya at least 64 Libyans had been killed and 150 others wounded by the missiles and bombs fired by the foreign forces over the weekend.

The majority of Libya’s civil airports and seaports were destroyed.

The UN resolution on no-fly zone over Libya aimed to protect civilians. We oppose abuse of force causing more civilian casualties and more serious humanitarian disasters, said Jiang.