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 News from Around the Americas | July 2006 
Latin American Nations Condemn Israeli Attack on Lebanon
 chinaview.cn
| | Rescuers carry out the body of a victim from the ruins of a building bombed by Israeli troops in a southern Lebanonese city, July 19, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters) |
Nations across Latin America this week condemned Israel's attacks on Lebanon, while Spain has called for the immediate dispatch of United Nations peacekeepers to prevent further escalation of the conflict.
Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Nicaragua, and El Salvador have all called on Israel to end its bombardment of Lebanon, during which about 300 civilians were killed and thousands more wounded.
Most of the nations have also contacted the authorities in Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey to help with the evacuation of their nationals who are currently in Lebanon.
Israeli armed forces have attacked Beirut, capital of neighboring Lebanon, destroying the airport and blockaded Lebanese ports after Hezbollah fighters captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight.
Argentina said that one of its citizens died on Sunday when anti-Israeli militias shelled the Israeli city of Nahariya, close to the Lebanon frontier.
Four Brazilian citizens visiting Lebanon died in an Israeli attack on southern Lebanon. No other Latin American nations have reported deaths in the region.
Brazil's Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning "the attack perpetrated by Israeli forces, which is a disproportionate reaction and leads to the loss of innocent lives in the civilian population."
The Brazilian authorities announced on Wednesday that the number of Brazilian fatalities now totals seven.
Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, Nicaragua and El Salvador all issued similar statements over Israel's attacks on Lebanon.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos urged the United Nations to send peacekeeping forces to the area immediately, adding that an end to the conflict requires the sending of a European diplomatic mission to the region.
Mexico has evacuated 121 nationals by bus to Syria. Brazil helped 90 nationals, six Argentines, and two Paraguayans leave Lebanon in one evacuation, and 160 Brazilians left Lebanon using their own resources via Syria and Jordan. |
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