The Secretary-General is shocked by the brutal assassination of Member of Parliament Antoine Ghanem and at least eight other civilians in Beirut today. He condemns in the strongest terms this terrorist attack and expresses his sincere condolences to the bereaved families of those killed.

Such acts of terrorism aim at undermining Lebanon's stability and are unacceptable. Lebanon has suffered far too many such attempts. The Secretary-General urges all Lebanese to exercise utmost calm and restraint at this very critical time and to allow judicial procedures to take their course.

The Secretary-General calls, now more than ever, for continued dialogue among all Lebanese. He reaffirms the United Nations' unswerving commitment to Lebanon's stability, sovereignty and political independence.