The killing of former Lebanese minister Mohamad Chatah in a car bomb in Beirut has been condemned by the United Nations Security Council, Secretary General and the United States, as his allies blamed the attack on Hezbollah.
A statement from the 15-member UN Security Council, stated their,
“unequivocal condemnation of any attempt to destabilize Lebanon through political assassinations and demanded an immediate end to the use of intimidation and violence against political figures”.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said in a statement that he condemned “in the strongest terms” and that he was
“deeply troubled by the recurring acts of terrorism in Lebanon which pose a severe threat to the country’s stability and national cohesion”.
Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri blamed the killings on Hezbollah, slamming the attack as a "a new message of terrorism". Chatah was also a staunch critic of besieged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom Hezbollah have prominently backed in the ongoing conflict in Syria.
US Secretary of State John Kerry meanwhile commented that the attack was "heinous and cowardly", adding,
"His tragic end reminds all of us just why his vision remains so imperative”.
“These acts only reinforce the strength and resolve of our commitment to support legitimate, unifying security forces in Lebanon, such as the Lebanese Armed Forces."
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