UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council unequivocally condemned on Tuesday the assassination of Pierre Gemayel, the Minister of Industry of Lebanon.

    The Council held emergency meeting in the afternoon at the request of Lebanon on the murder of Gemayel. In a presidential statement read out by its President for November, Jorge Voto-Bernales of Peru, the council condemned "any attempt to destabilize Lebanon through political assassination or other terrorist acts."

    "The council is gravely concerned by this assassination and its possible impact on ongoing efforts by the government and people of Lebanon to solidify democracy, extend the authority of the Lebanese government throughout its territory and complete the reconstruction process," the statement said.

    The council members called upon all parties in Lebanon and the region to show restraint and a sense of responsibility with a view to preventing any further deterioration of the situation in Lebanon.

    Meanwhile, the council requested the UN Secretary-General to continue to follow closely and report regularly to the council on the situation in Lebanon.

    Gemayel, a supporter of the anti-Syrian parliament majority, was shot dead on a street in the suburb of Beirut on Tuesday. The 34-year-old Gemayel, who is called in the statement a symbol of freedom and of the political independence of Lebanon, was a Christian leader in Lebanon and son of former president Amin Gemayel.

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A Lebanese woman carries a picture of assassinated Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel in Bekfaya, northeast of Beirut, November 21, 2006.  (AFP Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    BEIRUT, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Industry Minister and Christian leader Pierre Gemayel was shot dead on a street in the suburb of Beirut on Tuesday, al-Jazeera TV channel quoted the Lebanese Interior Ministry as saying.

    Saad Hariri, parliament's majority leader and son of the late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, broke off his televised press conference and confirmed the news, al-Jazeera said.

    According to reports by Arabia TV, the minister was hit by a gunshot on his head when his convoy was attacked in Jedeide, about15 km northeast from Beirut.

    Gemayel was rushed to hospital where he later died of his wounds, said the report.

    The 34-year-old Gemayel was a Christian leader in Lebanon and son of former president Amin Gemayel. He was a supporter of the anti-Syrian parliament majority.

    Gemayel's assassination is almost certain to deepen the political crisis in Lebanon, which started after the resignation of six pro-Syrian ministers, two from Hezbollah, hours after all-party round table talks collapsed.

    The crisis took a sharp turn for the worse after the cabinet, without the Syrian-backed ministers, approved the UN draft document for creation of an international tribunal in the case of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's killing.

   The opposition parties dismissed the cabinet's approval of the UN draft and called for the government's resignation.