UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) — The UN Security Council voiced \”deep sympathy and condolences\” to quake-hit Haiti and reaffirmed \”strong support\” for the island country, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Yesui, said here on Monday.

Zhang, who holds the rotating Council presidency for January, made the statement to the press after the 15-nation Council was briefed by UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on his visit to Haiti and his latest assessment of the situation in the Caribbean country.

? The UN Security Council voiced\”deep sympathy and condolences\” to quake-hit Haiti and reaffirmed\”strong support\”for the island country. (Xinhua Photo)

\”The members of the Council expressed their deep sympathy and condolences to the government and people of Haiti and reaffirmed their strong support,\” Zhang said.

\”The members of the Council extend their deepest condolences to the families of Special Representative of the Secretary-general Hedi Annabi, Principal Deputy Special Representative Luiz Carlos de Costa, Acting UN Police Commissioner in Haiti Doug Coates, and all other members of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and other UN and international organizations who gave their lives for the highest ideals of the United Nations,\” he added.

\”They also convey their deepest sympathy to the secretary- general and the United Nations family for their tragic loss,\” Zhang said.

\”The members of the Council recognize the significant contributions of those who have fallen and express their sincere gratitude for the ongoing dedication of the staff, troops and police of MINUSTAH who work tirelessly for peace and stability in Haiti,\” Zhang said.

Forty-six UN personnel are now confirmed dead in the Haiti earthquake and more than 500 others are still missing, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters here on Monday.

\”The death toll for the UN as a whole is 46,\” he said, adding that \”more than 500 are missing or unaccounted for.\”

Also among the confirmed dead in Haiti were eight Chinese police officers — four of them were members of the MINUSTAH and the other four were sent by the Chinese authorities on a temporary mission.

\”The members of the Council expressed their support to the proposal of the secretary-general to increase the overall level of MINUSTAH to support the immediate recovery and stability efforts,\” Zhang said. \”The members of the Council are working on a rapid response to the proposal of the secretary-general, and will follow the situation in Haiti closely.\”

Ban told reporters here on Monday that he asked the Security Council to deploy an additional 3,500 police and military personnel to boost the strength of the MINUSTAH.

\”I recommend that the Security Council boost the member of troops by 2,000, nearly 33 percent increase for six months\” and increase the number of UN police officers in the mission by 1,500, up 67 percent.