“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the acknowledged increased participation in the fighting in Syria by Hizbollah, as well as by the risk of spillover in Lebanon, which has witnessed growing tension over the past week,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said in a statement. “All in the region should act responsibly and work towards lowering rhetoric and calming tensions in the region.”

According to media reports, two rockets hit a Hizbollah-run area in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Sunday, a day after the Lebanese group’s leader pledged to keep supporting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

“The Secretary-General reiterates the paramount importance of preventing a dangerous spillover of the conflict across borders,” the statement said. “He believes that strict adherence to the Baabda Declaration will help preserve Lebanon’s stability and security, and calls on all Lebanese leaders and parties to renew their commitment to it and keep Lebanon safe from conflict.”

The Baabda Declaration, which was issued during a National Dialogue meeting in June 2012, calls for keeping Lebanon neutral from regional tensions and crises. The Declaration is named after the Baabda Presidential Palace, where the meeting was held.

In the statement, Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said the Secretary-General has consistently opposed the transfer of arms and fighters from outside Syria to either side inside the country and has repeatedly urged respect for the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries in the region.

“As preparations are ongoing for the international conference on Syria, the Secretary-General urges all countries, organizations and groups immediately to cease supporting the violence inside Syria and instead to use their influence to promote a political solution to Syria’s tragedy.”

Mr. Ban also reiterated that protecting civilians must be a priority and urged all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law.

Since March 2011, fighting between the Syrian Government and opposition forces seeking to oust Mr. Al-Assad has killed more than 70,000 people, and left 6.8 million people in need. In addition, the UN estimates that some 1.5 million Syrians have fled their country to escape conflict.

The city that was engulfed for most of the 1980s by civil war, then by a series of bombings and assassinations, has been shattered once again, and the streets rife with fear.

People in Beirut are now pointing their attention toward the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Anti-Syrian politicians accuse Damascus of being behind the powerful car bomb that killed the head of the country’s internal intelligence service.

Today, Saturday, was declared a day of mourning.  Internal Security Forces (ISF) intelligence chief General Wissam al-Hassan is to be buried on Sunday alongside former premier Rafiq Hariri, murdered in a car bombing seven years ago. In the meantime, Lebanon’s cabinet met in an emergency session, as scattered protests erupted around the country.

The government in Damascus and its allies in Lebanon have condemned the bombing. However, few people are inclined to believe the denials of a government that has long interfered with the social and political control of its neighbour, assumed Wyre Davies as BBC news reports on the events.

Less than 24 hours after the Ashrafiya bomb there were already rumours that Prime Minister Najib Mikati would resign; however, people urged him to stay arguing that high-level resignations and political turmoil in Lebanon are precisely the aim of whoever killed General al-Hassan, and at least seven others on Friday afternoon.

One of General al-Hassan’s most high-profile recent moves was the uncovering of an alleged plot that led to the arrest of former minister Michel Samaha. He was detained on charges of collaborating with members of the Syrian government to import explosives and launch attacks in Lebanon. Although historical precedents justify some of the accusations of Syrian involvement, it is still too early to say who was responsible for the attack.

Nevertheless, even if people in Lebanon have absolutely no desire to return to inter-factional violence, an attack of this nature was perhaps to be expected. Syria’s brutal civil unrest is already being played out on the streets of Tripoli, the northern Lebanese city where pro-Syrian (Alawite) and Sunni anti-Assad factions have fought gun battles on at least two occasions this year.

Nadim Gemayel, an MP from the right-wing Christian Phalange Party, also pointed to Syria: “This regime, which is crumbling, is trying to export its conflict to Lebanon,” he said.

As UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calls on the  “Lebanese parties not to be provoked” by this terrorist act; and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton asked the “Lebanese to remain calm”.  The factional, sectarian strife everybody hoped to be a thing of the past might re-emerge. Hopefully, Beirut will hold storng,  dust itself down and return to its normal life.

“The United Nations is committed to continue working to help improve the humanitarian and socio-economic conditions of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon in full coordination with the Lebanese authorities,” said the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Derek Plumbly.

Plumbly toured the Burj Barajneh camp in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, with representatives of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to examine the humanitarian and living conditions in the camp.

It was the first visit to the camp for Plumbly, who toured several facilities and was briefed on the living conditions of over 17,000 registered refugees in the camp. Representatives of the camp also raised a number of concerns of the Palestinian refugee population in Lebanon, in relation to the right to work and other areas.

Lebanon’s parliament passed legislative measures two years ago to expand the right to work for Palestinian refugees, but they have yet to be implemented. UNRWA has repeatedly called for the measures to be acted on, stressing that they will help to ensure the socio-economic rights of a population that numbers almost half a million people.

Funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN Member States, UNRWA provides assistance, protection and advocacy for nearly five million registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied Palestinian territory.

According to the World Bank, Beirut is at the core of Lebanon’s service-based economy and accounts for one-third of the country’s population. However, the city and the greater metropolitan area suffer from severe traffic congestion, which results in high economic losses and deteriorating air quality. The congestion problem is exacerbated by the heavy reliance of urban residents’ on private cars: 83 percent of the 2 million daily vehicular trips are carried out by car, and only the remaining 17 percent rely on public transport. The Greater Beirut Area (GBA) further suffers from a lack of traffic and parking enforcement, as well as a fragmented and unorganized public transport system.

The focus of the Urban Transport Development Project (UTDP) is on providing the city of Beirut and the GBA with a basic institutional framework and the critical investments needed to maximize the efficiency of the existing urban transport infrastructure. A centerpiece in the institutional framework is the establishment of the Traffic Management Organization (TMO), supported by the construction of a Traffic Management Center (TMC). Critical investments included the construction of 19 grade separation facilities at highly congested intersections along seven main corridors of the GBA.

The strategy adopted in 2003 at the launch of the UTDP consisted of: for the short to medium term, address critical needs and prepare for an efficient transport system for the Greater Beirut Area (GBA); and, for the long term, develop an integrated public transport system and complete the transport system infrastructure (mainly the Périphérique).

Key outcomes are the following:

- Effective traffic control system throughout the Greater Beirut Area, and a well-functioning Traffic Management Organization (TMO): the Traffic Management Center (TMC) has been completed, staffed, equipped and is now operational, with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed and 200 intersections equipped with traffic lights, all connected to the TMC.

- Construction of key infrastructure on major corridors: 10 grade separation facilities (overpasses and underpasses) are completed and open to traffic, 3 intersections are under construction and 2 others are being awarded as of October 30, 2011.

- Effective on-street parking management, with average daily revenue per park-meter installed under the project reaching Lebanese pound (LBP) 50,000 in 2011 (compared to 0 in 2007), with the installation and operation of 735 Pay and Display machines by a private sector operator.

- Reduction by 30 percent of parking violations in areas critical to efficient traffic operations between 2008 and 2011.

- Technical assistance for transport planning and public transport development: completion of a study for the revitalization of transport, a strategy note for public urban transport system in GBA and a study for alternative modes of transport on a main corridor.

According to a World Bank report, the remaining challenges are: launching the planned Three-Year Operation and Maintenance contract to secure effective performance of the traffic management system; implementing the Traffic Police Action Plan (reorganization, adequate staffing and training) for effective enforcement of traffic and parking controls; and completing the preparatory studies for an integrated public transport system. An action plan for an integrated public transport system in Beirut, TransBeirut, has been formulated and the challenge now is to prepare an urban public transport project for the GBA, complete the financing plan and start implementation.

Violence erupted hours after reports emerged that army troops had shot dead an anti Syrian regime Sunni cleric when his convoy failed to stop at a checkpoint in north Lebanon on Sunday, AFP reported.

The incident which raised fears of a repeat of sectarian conflict in 2008,  took place following a week of clashes in the northern port city of Tripoli between Sunnis hostile to the Syrian regime and Alawites who support President Bashar al-Assad.

The uprising in Syria has resulted in a deep split between Lebanon’s political parties where the opposition backs those leading the revolt against Assad and accuse the Lebanese government of following orders of the Syrian regime while a ruling coalition led by the Shia Hezbollah supports the regime, Al Jazeera reported.

Last week, clashes sparked by the Syrian crisis killed at least eight people in the northern city of Tripoli.

The Syrian National Council in a statement issued two days ago has called on Lebanese authorities to abide by the Arab League and International sanctions imposed on the Syrian regime and to prevent the wire fraud and money laundering conducted by Syrian regime in collaboration with some of its allies in Lebanon.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati tried calm tensions by stating, “The government is determined to continue to shoulder its national responsibilities amid this critical period in Lebanon and the region, and it will take all measures necessary to preserve civil peace,” he said in a statement.

More than 12,000 people, the majority of them civilians, have died in Syria since an anti-regime revolt broke out in March last year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.