Security Council Rejects Terrorism, Urges Respect for Disassociation Policy

The U.N. Security Council rejected all forms of terrorism after a deadly explosion targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday, urging the Lebanese to preserve national unity and stick to the dissociation policy.

“Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed,” the Security Council said.

In its statement, which echoed the call for justice, the 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.”

The explosion tore through a crowded commercial street in the Haret Hreik district, which is a Hizbullah stronghold, killing at least four people, setting cars ablaze and causing extensive damage to buildings in the area.

It was the latest in a wave of attacks to hit Lebanon in recent months as the civil war in Syria increasingly spills over into its smaller neighbor.

Hizbullah has refused to withdraw its members from Syria. They are fighting alongside troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad who is facing a majority Sunni rebels.