UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Derek Plumbly, the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, met with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, accompanied by the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to "underline solidarity with Lebanon" after deadly terrorist attack last Friday, a UN spokesman said here Monday.
The meeting took place in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, on Monday, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said at a daily news briefing here. "The meeting was held to underline solidarity with Lebanon at this difficult time."
"The delegation conveyed their support for the president's leadership and the efforts he is undertaking in consultation with all Lebanese parties," Nesirky said. "It is for the Lebanese parties to agree the way forward. It is also vital that this should be done through a peaceful political process."
Plumbly also visited the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Ashrafieh on Monday, and he thanked the director and staff for their response to the terrorist attack which took place last Friday, the spokesman said.
Suleiman held talks on Monday with the UN special coordinator and the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- on the current security situation in the Middle East country, reports said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke at the weekend by telephone with both the Lebanese president and the prime minister to express his solidarity.
A car bomb attack took place in eastern Beirut on Friday last week, killing eight people, including senior Lebanese security official Wissam El Hassan, and injuring more than 80 others. Following the assassination of El Hassan, armed clashes broke out in various regions in Lebanon.
The bomb attack, the first of its kind in Beirut since 2008, came amid heightened tensions and rifts in Lebanon, where religious sects are divided between those supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and those backing the opposition trying to force him out.
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