The UN Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday 'unequivocally' condemned the assassination of Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel and urged all parties in Lebanon and the region to show restraint.
In a French-drafted statement read by its president, Peru's UN Ambassador Jorge Voto-Bernales, the 15-member council said it "condemns" the killing of Gemayel, whom it described as "a patriot who was a symbol of freedom and of the political independence of Lebanon."
It also condemned "any attempt to destabilise Lebanon through political assassination or other terrorist acts" and urged "all parties in Lebanon and the region to show restraint and a sense of responsibility with a view to preventing any further deterioration of the situation in Lebanon."
"The Security Council welcomes the determination and commitment of the government of Lebanon, to bring to justice the perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of this and other assassinations and underlines its determination to support the government of Lebanon in its efforts to this end," the statement said.
It also reiterated its previous calls on all parties concerned to
"co-operate fully and urgently with the Security Council for the full implementation of all relevant (UN) resolutions concerning the restoration of the territorial integrity, full sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon."
The Gemayel slaying came as the Security Council was set to endorse the propose creation of a UN-backed international tribunal to try suspects in the murder of Lebanon's former premier Rafiq Hariri in Beirut in February 2005.
Gemayel, a 34-year-old Christian Maronite politician, was shot to death in a Beirut suburb in the latest in a spate of attacks on anti-Syrian politicians over the past two years, prompting angry voices to blame Damascus.
But Syria immediately condemned the assassination as "a crime aimed at destabilising" Lebanon.