Australia demands China apologize for contentious tweet

ANKARA

Australia on Monday demanded China apologize for a tweet attacking the Australian military in the wake of a major war crimes probe that uncovered the killing of dozens of Afghan civilians, local media reported.

"Australia's seeking an apology from the Chinese Government for this outrageous post," the ABC News quoted Prime Minister Scott Morrison as saying. "We're also seeking its removal immediately."

Admitting that tensions existed between China and Australia, he said: "This is not how you deal with them."

Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne described the graphic tweet, as the most "egregious" instance of social media disinformation she had witnessed in her career, according to ABC News.

"The Australian Government has called in the Chinese ambassador and sought an apology from the ambassador in relation to this tweet," she said.

"We will [also] be conveying that message directly in Beijing through our ambassador."

On Monday morning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian shared the image apparently depicting an Australian soldier killing an Afghan child.

"Shocked by murder of Afghan civilians & prisoners by Australian soldiers. We strongly condemn such acts, &call for holding them accountable," Zhao wrote.

Zhao had also "strongly condemned" the Australian soldiers' actions last week, saying the report "fully exposed the hypocrisy of the human rights and freedom these Western countries are always chanting."

Afghan officials, as well as other countries including Turkey, have also lambasted the killings uncovered in the recent investigation on Nov. 19 of at least 39 incidents of civilian killings in Afghanistan by Australian special forces.

The Brereton report, commissioned by the inspector-general of the Australian Defense Force, found "credible information" that Australian soldiers murdered civilians and prisoners in Afghanistan.

Relations between Beijing and Canberra turned sour after the latter joined its Western allies in seeking a probe into the origins of COVID-19, which first appeared in Wuhan, China in December 2019.