Lebanese People Must Remain United After Terrorist Attacks

Following Terrorist Attacks, Security Council Urges Lebanese People to Remain United

New York, Aug 16 2013 - The United Nations Security Council has appealed to all Lebanese people to preserve national unity, following a car bomb explosion in a Beirut suburb that killed at least 14 people and wounded more than 200.

In a statement issued to the press last night, members of the Council strongly condemned the attack, and reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms is criminal, unjustifiable, and constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.

The Council also reiterated the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the UN Charter and international law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts. In addition, the stressed the need to bring the perpetrators of these acts to justice.

"The members of the Security Council appealed to all Lebanese people to preserve national unity in the face of attempts to undermine the country's stability and stressed the importance for all Lebanese parties to respect Lebanon's policy of disassociation and to refrain from any involvement in the Syrian crisis, consistent with their commitment in the Baabda Declaration," said the statement.

The Baabda Declaration, which was issued during a National Dialogue meeting in June 2012, calls for keeping Lebanon neutral from regional tensions and crises. The Declaration is named after the Baabda Presidential Palace, where the meeting was held.

The Council extended its condolences to the victims of yesterday's attack and their families and expressed its sympathy to all those injured.

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news

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