Lebanon: UN envoy condemns ‘cowardly’ attack in Beirut suburb

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Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras

9 July 2013 – The top United Nations envoy in Lebanon strongly condemned the bomb blast that targeted a south Beirut suburb today, injuring dozens of people at the start of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

“Such cowardly acts of violence aim at destabilizing the country and spreading fear among the population and are completely unacceptable,” said a news release issued by the office of the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Derek Plumbly.

“Lebanon’s leaders and political parties should rally together against such threats to their country’s security and stability and work to reinforce the role of Lebanon’s State institutions.”

The explosion occurred this morning in a parking lot of a densely populated area in the suburb of Bir El-Abed. Media reports say around 50 people were wounded in the attack, for which no group has so far claimed responsibility.

Mr. Plumbly, who is scheduled to brief the Security Council later today in a closed-door meeting on Lebanon, conveyed his deep sympathies to those injured in the explosion and wished them a speedy recovery.

“The Special Coordinator hopes today’s incident will be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice as soon as possible,” the news release added.