UNITED NATIONS, June 10 (Xinhuanet) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned Thursday the killing of 11 Chinese construction workers in Afghanistan and expressed his profound condolences to the Chinese government and to the bereaved families.

    "He condemns this outrageous and contemptible act against unarmed civilians," the UN chief said in a statement.

    "The Secretary-General was shocked to learn of the killing, last night, of 11 Chinese construction workers and their Afghan guard on the outskirts of Kunduz city in Northern Afghanistan," itsaid.

    "This appalling attack follows a series of other incidents directed against those working in support of the Bonn peace process," Annan added, calling on the Afghan government, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force for Afghanistan (ISAF),and Coalition forces to take necessary measures to address the security situation.

    Reports reaching here said that on June 10, a group of some 20 armed men charged into the Chinese construction workers' compound,about 36 km outside the city of Kunduz. The attack, which reportedly lasted 10 minutes, left 11 dead and 5 wounded, one of them in critical condition.

    The victims were part of the team working on the Kunduz-Baghlan road, a project funded by the World Bank. Enditem