Beijing: The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday called for Australia to apologise to the Afghan people, referring to a disturbing report by Australia's military earlier this month which found evidence that elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and civilians.
The comments came as Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was seeking an apology from the Chinese government after a tweet by a Chinese official showed a fake image of an Australian soldier slitting a child's throat.
Read:| Australia seeks China apology over 'repugnant' tweet
The graphic image was posted Monday by Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry.
"The Chinese government should be totally ashamed of this post. It diminishes them in the world's eyes," Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
In response, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson retorted: "Shouldn't the Australian government feel ashamed for their soldiers killing innocent civilians in Afghanistan?"
The incident is further increasing tensions between the two nations in a relationship that was already under strain.
Morrison said it had contacted Twitter asking them to take the post down. The post had a warning tag on it Monday afternoon but was still able to be viewed. Zhao's account comes with a Twitter label stating that it's a Chinese government account.
AP
Read:| Report finds Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghans
