Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa on Tuesday extended the condolences of the pan-Arab bloc to the Chinese government and people over a disastrous earthquake in China's Sichuan Province.

During his meeting with Wu Chunhua, Chinese ambassador to Egypt and representative to the AL, Moussa said the AL was shocked to hear the news about the earthquake in China.

Moussa expressed the AL's condolences to the injured and the families of the victims.

Moussa said the Arab organization believes that the Chinese government has the capability to lead the Chinese people to overcome the difficulties caused by the natural disaster and realize reconstruction soon.

Shortly after the talks of the two sides, the AL issued a statement, reiterating it's condolences to China.

A 7.8-magnitude quake rocked Wenchuan Country, 159 km northwest of the southwest Sichuan Province's capital of Chengdu, at 2:28 PM (0628 GMT) on Monday, killing thousands of people in eight affected provinces.

(Xinhua News Agency May 14, 2008)