Jiang Expresses Regret Over Blasts in Nigeria

Chinese President Jiang Zemin on Tuesday said China regrets the tragic explosions on Sunday in Nigeria's largest city Lagos, which killed over 1,000 people in the city's worst disaster in a decade.

In a message to Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, Jiang conveyed the regret and sympathy the Chinese government and people feel over the tragedy, and expressed condolences to the bereft families.

On Sunday, an accidental fire triggered multiple bomb explosions at a Nigerian military armory in the city's Ikeja district. The blasts rocked the country's largest city and sparked a mass stampede.

President Obasanjo declared Tuesday a national day of mourning to mark the tragedy.

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2002)