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Secretary-General condemns Easter eve bombing in Lebanon

Secretary-General condemns Easter eve bombing in Lebanon

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Condemning the violence which continues to rock Lebanon through this weekend's Christian holidays, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on the country's Government to prevent a further deterioration in the security situation.

Late Saturday, an explosion in Beirut killed two people and injured at least eight others. In a statement released in New York, a spokesman for Mr. Annan said the Secretary-General was “especially saddened that this latest attack, the third in Lebanon in only a week, was carried out on the eve of Easter, just as many of the nation's Christians were preparing to attend mass.”

Urging an end to the bloodshed, the statement stressed that the Lebanese people should be allowed to decide their country's future free of violence and intimidation.

The Secretary-General called on the Government of Lebanon “to act rapidly to prevent the security situation from deteriorating” and urged all concerned parties “to do their utmost to safeguard Lebanon's stability and national unity,” the spokesman said.