The blasts, outside two mosques following Friday prayers, killed at least 42 people and wounded more than 400.

“The Secretary-General calls on all Lebanese to exercise restraint, to remain united, and to support their State institutions, particularly the security forces, in maintaining calm and order in Tripoli and throughout the country, and in preventing the recurrence of such destructive actions,” Mr. Ban said in a statement attributable to his spokesperson.

Calling the attacks “cowardly”, Mr. Ban reiterated the determination of the international community to support Lebanon’s security and stability.

The UN chief, and the Security Council in a separate statement, extended their condolences to the families of those killed and the Government of Lebanon, and wished well those injured.

The 15-member Council also appealed to all Lebanese people to “preserve national unity in the face of attempts to undermine the country’s stability”.

The Council stressed the importance for all Lebanese parties to respect Lebanon’s policy of disassociation and to refrain from any involvement in the Syrian crisis, consistent with their commitment in the Baabda Declaration.

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

In its statement, the Security Council condemned the attacks as acts of terrorism, and reiterated the need to combat such acts in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and all obligations under international law.

Field officers with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported the first group of some 750 Syrians crossed over the pontoon bridge at Peshkhabour at the Tigris River before noon on Thursday, but in the afternoon a much larger group of 5,000 to 7,000 people followed.

“The factors allowing this sudden movement are not fully clear to us at this stage and as of this morning we are not seeing further large-scale crossings,” UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva.

Some of the Syrians had reportedly been waiting near the Tigris River for two to three days, camped at a makeshift site. UNHCR monitors at the border saw scores of buses arriving on the Syrian side dropping off more people seeking to cross.

Mr. Edwards said both the Syrian and Iraqi sides of the frontier at the Peshkhabour crossing are normally tightly controlled.

The vast majority of the new arrivals are families, mainly from Aleppo, Efrin, Hassake and Qamishly. Some families told UNHCR they had relatives residing in northern Iraq, and some students travelling alone said that they had been studying in northern Iraq and had only returned to Syria over the recent Eid holidays.

“UNHCR and partner agency teams, together with local authorities, worked into the early hours of this morning to aid the new arrivals,” Mr. Edwards said.

UNHCR thanked Iraqi authorities and particularly the Kurdistan Regional Government for their involvement in negotiations to permit the new arrivals to cross and the transport and other assistance that was provided at the frontier.

As of Friday, almost 2 million Syrians have fled the war and registered as refugees or applied for registration, with two-thirds of these having arrived this year. There are now more than 684,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, 516,000 in Jordan, 434,000 in Turkey, 154,000 in Iraq, and 107,000 in Egypt.

UNHCR has urged countries in the region and elsewhere to keep borders open and to receive all Syrians who seek protection amid the fighting that has so far claimed over 100,000 lives since it began in March 2011.

The US$6.4 million Mobile Internet Ecosystem Project (MIEP) approved by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors today will strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship in the Lebanese mobile Internet ecosystem. Beneficiaries include software developers, university students and graduates, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) firms, industries where new software applications can improve productivity, and mobile users at large.

The project will increase entrepreneurial skills and practical training of the Lebanese talent pool to enhance competitiveness in the industry. It will help create instruments to interact and develop innovation networks to increase global competitiveness. Moreover, areas of improvement will be identified to help the government implement needed reforms.

Creating a mobile Internet ecosystem in Lebanon will have a positive impact on the country’s labor market including greater geographic diversification, improved growth and increased retention of skilled workers. With mobile technology well distributed across Lebanon, new economic opportunities will be possible in economically marginalized areas.

“Fostering investment and capital accumulation in new and innovative sectors that use existing domestic human resources and skills can help unleash Lebanon’s potential for growth and over the long-term shift the economy towards a more sustainable growth path,” said Ferid Belhaj, World Bank Country Director for the Mashreq. “Lebanon is recognized for its strong education system and its multilingual and educated entrepreneurial population. It is important to build on this human capital when addressing economic growth and job creation.”

With literacy rates above 90 percent and gross tertiary education enrollment at 54 percent, the country’s young graduates represent a competitive talent pool. However, Lebanon’s unemployment rate, particularly among young people and women, is high. While the national unemployment rate is 11 percent, 34 percent of all young people and 18 percent of women are actively looking for work.

“The mobile Internet segment can create jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities for the talented, technology savvy Lebanese youth,” said Carlo Maria Rossotto, World Bank Regional Coordinator of the ICT sector. “This project aims to strengthen digital skills and create new enterprises in the mobile Internet space which is a driver of economic growth and job creation”.

The project will be implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Telecommunications who will finance 50 percent of the total cost. The project has strong support within the Government of Lebanon and is aligned with the government’s latest Economic and Social Reform Action Plan.

In a statement issued to the news media, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said it was informed by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) that an IDF patrol had crossed the so-called Blue Line separating the two countries two days ago in the general area of Labouneh and that there had subsequently been an explosion.

UNIFIL immediately launched an investigation into the alleged violation of Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese group Hizbollah, and calls for respect for the Blue Line, the disarming of all militias in Lebanon, and an end to arms smuggling in the area.

“A UNIFIL investigation team is currently at the location indicated by LAF. Our effort is to ascertain if any traces of a possible explosion or other activity can be identified on the ground,” the mission stated. “At the same time, we have asked the IDF to provide us details of any incident in the area as alleged and, if so, its precise location,” UNIFIL added.

Established in 1978, UNIFIL is tasked with ensuring that the area between the Blue Line and the Litani River is free of unauthorized weapons, personnel and assets. It also cooperates with the LAF so they can fulfil their security responsibilities.

The families in Ein El Hilweh refugee camp in Saida fled the long-running conflict in Syria, which has uprooted millions of people since fighting began between Government forces and opposition groups in March 2011.

During the 11 July visit, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, Robert Watkins, accompanied by Leila Zerrougui, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, and Ann Dismorr, the Director of Operations in Lebanon for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), met with Palestinians currently residing in collective temporary accommodation.

“The families, wishing for an immediate end to the violence in Syria and a speedy return to their homes, told them about the difficult conditions they face in Lebanon, the high cost of living and the trauma of war and displacement,” said a news release issued by UNRWA.

The UN officials also met with Palestinian refugee children from Syria who are enrolled in UNRWA schools, a number of non-governmental organization representatives and the Palestinian popular committees.

Dismorr briefed her colleagues on UNRWA efforts to alleviate the suffering of the 71,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria that are now in Lebanon, as well as the challenges facing the Agency as it works to address their urgent needs in housing, food, water, camp infrastructure, health and education.

“The conflict in Syria is one of the greatest challenges UNRWA has seen since it was established, in 1949, to provide relief to Palestine refugees,” she said.

The UN envoys were also informed about the shortfall in the UNRWA relief fund for Palestinian refugees from Syria, and the Agency’s efforts to raise the funds to cater for their needs.

On 7 June, UNRWA appealed for $65 million to cover the needs of Palestinian refugees from Syria from January to December 2013. Of that sum, the Agency has received over $25 million, and has confirmed pledges of an additional $3 million.

“We are committed to providing vital services and support to the refugees who have come to Lebanon,” Ms. Dismorr said, reiterating the refugee families’ wish for a swift end to the violence in Syria.

“As the impact of the Syria crisis on Lebanon’s stability and security becomes more and more apparent, the Security Council underscores its growing concern at the marked increase of cross-border fire from the Syrian Arab Republic into Lebanon, which caused death and injury among the Lebanese population, as well as incursions, abductions and arms trafficking across the Lebanese-Syrian border,” the 15-member body said in a presidential statement.

The Council noted “with deep concern” new developments with regard to the involvement of Lebanese parties in the fighting in Syria, and called on them to recommit to Lebanon’s policy of disassociation, to stand united behind President Michel Sleiman and to step back from any involvement in the Syrian crisis.

In his latest report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese group Hizbollah, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted with concern new developments regarding the involvement of Lebanese citizens in the fighting in the Syria.

This includes Hizbollah’s “acknowledged participation in and commitment to such fighting,” threats by external actors to bring their fight to Lebanon in response to Hizbollah’s involvement and calls from inside Lebanon to engage in jihad in Syria, Ban wrote.

“The implications of these developments for Lebanon’s stability, and indeed for the region, are serious,” he warned, urging all concerned parties in Lebanon to step back from involvement in the conflict in Syria.

The Council heard a briefing yesterday on the report, as well as the latest developments on the ground, from the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Derek Plumbly. Both Mr. Plumbly and the Council have strongly condemned the terrorist attack that took place yesterday in a Beirut suburb and injured around 50 people, and underlined the need to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“In the face of attempts to undermine the country’s stability,” the Council today encouraged all parties in Lebanon to demonstrate renewed unity and determination to resist a “slide into conflict” and commended Sleiman’s continued efforts in this regard.

The Council also condemned recent violence by armed groups across Lebanon, and stressed the need to support the security and judicial authorities in combating impunity.

Both the Council and the Secretary-General called on Lebanon’s leaders to work with Prime Minister Tammam Salam to finalize the formation of a Government, which is crucial for addressing the multiple challenges facing the country, including the humanitarian crisis resulting from the influx of refugees from the Syria crisis.

Since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, over 1.7 million people have fled Syria to neighbouring countries and Lebanon has received the largest number of refugees in the region. There are currently more than half a million refugees from Syria in Lebanon, according to UN estimates. It is estimated that by the end of the year, refugees could make up 20 per cent of Lebanon’s population.

“As for the refugee crisis, the Security Council underlines the need for assistance on an unprecedented scale, both to meet the needs of the refugees and of host communities, and to assist the Lebanese authorities who face extraordinary financial and structural challenges as a result of the refugee influx.”

“Syria’s neighbors should stop pushing desperate people back to places where their lives are in danger,” said Gerry Simpson, senior refugee researcher at Human Rights Watch. “International donors should help Syria’s neighbors by generously supporting them and humanitarian agencies assisting almost two million refugees.”

HRW which has documented the refugee situation on Syria’s borders says that although Jordan denies it has closed its borders, recently arrived Syrian refugees in Jordan say that Jordanian border guards blocked their and others’ entry for days or weeks in May. Since late 2011, Jordan has prevented Palestinians, Iraqis, single military-aged men, and anyone without identity documents from entering Jordan.

HRW has also found that authorities in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) admit that they closed their border with Syria in May, and that since mid-June only some Syrians in need of emergency humanitarian assistance have been allowed to cross while authorities in central Iraq maintain that they will admit “urgent humanitarian cases” and family reunification cases. But they have severely limited the number of Syrians allowed to enter since August 2012, and new arrivals virtually ceased in late March.

Turkey is blocking the entry of thousands of Syrians at the Bab al-Salam, Atma, and other border crossings with Syria and only sporadically allows small numbers from the Bab al-Salam camp and other displaced Syrian camps in Syria close to the Turkish border to cross into Turkey, with thousands blocked for weeks or months inside Syria, HRW also found.

In October, a senior Turkish official told Human Rights Watch that the country’s refugee camps were full and said that instead of allowing more Syrian refugees to enter, the government was making sure that assistance reached Syrians in areas close to the border.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of mid-June Jordan was hosting over 480,000 Syrian refugees who were either already registered or being registered by UNHCR, while Turkey was hosting over 387,000, and Iraq over 158,000. Lebanon has over 550,000 UNHCR-registered or registering Syrian refugees, adding approximately 10 per cent to its population, while the Lebanese government estimates the number of Syrians in the country at more than one million.

“Iraq, Jordan, and Turkey risk turning Syria into an open-air prison for tens of thousands of Syrians unable to escape the carnage in their country,” Simpson said. “Neither the pressure those countries are under due to rising refugee numbers, nor giving aid inside Syria, can justify violating people’s basic right to seek asylum from persecution and other abuse.”

“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.

“I am encouraged to see that the situation along the Blue Line is generally calm,” the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, said today following an aerial tour which included visits to the Wazzani and Shebaa areas, El Adeisseh, Kafr Kela and Sheikh Abbad’s Tomb and meetings with UNIFIL troops from Indonesia, Italy, Nepal, Spain, France, and India.

In his remarks, Mr. Ladsous commended Israel and Lebanon for their continued commitment to the cessation of hostilities and the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese group Hizbollah, and calls for respect for the Blue Line, the disarming of all militias in Lebanon, and an end to arms smuggling in the area.

Accompanied by UNIFIL Force Commander, Paolo Serra, the Under-Secretary-General also received a briefing on the ongoing visible marking of the Blue Line, which is undertaken by UNIFIL in coordination with both parties.

“A visible element of their good work with UNIFIL is the Blue Line marking process,” Mr. Ladsous noted, stating it was “a critical confidence-building measure.”

Established in 1978, UNIFIL is tasked with ensuring that the area between the so-called Blue Line – separating Israel and Lebanon – and the Litani River is free of unauthorized weapons, personnel and assets. It also cooperates with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) so they can fulfil their security responsibilities.

Mr. Ladsous praised the cooperation between UNIFIL and the LAF in maintaining a relatively tranquil security environment in an area of the world under increasing strain – most notably, due to the continuing conflict in nearby Syria which has fuelled sectarian tensions across Lebanon and raised concerns that the country could plunge back into the internecine violence it endured during its 15 year civil war, which ended in 1990.

The last weeks of August 2012, for instance, witnessed fighting between supporters and opponents of the Syrian Government in Beirut, while tensions also increased in other parts of the country, such as the northern city of Tripoli. Moreover, a series of kidnappings also contributed to escalation in tensions.

Nevertheless, the UN official singled out the positive work undertaken by the two forces.

“I saw on the ground today the positive outcome of the strategic partnership between UNIFIL and the LAF,” Mr. Ladsous continued.

“I have high admiration for all the military and civilian personnel of UNIFIL whose hard work and sacrifice have rendered southern Lebanon the security and stability it lacked for three decades until 2006,” he added.

Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood, Policy Štefan Füle, said: “Lebanon receives the highest number of people fleeing from Syria – Syrians as well as Palestine refugees from Syria – and we know that it puts this country under enormous strain. The hospitality and generosity displayed by the Lebanese towards their neighbours is admirable and commendable. The EU remains committed to assisting Lebanon in its response to the refugee crisis”.

At the same time, he welcomed Lebanon’s comprehensive response plan to deal with the refugee crisis and conveyed the EU´s appreciation of the fact that Lebanon keeps its borders open to people fleeing the violence in the neighbouring country.

The European assistance will focus on capacity building in Lebanese institutions to deal with the crisis, improving access to educational and early childhood development services for both Syrian refugees and those Lebanese communities hosting refugees often in their own homes, empowering local communities socially and economically, strengthening existing structures for the care of children and other vulnerable groups and providing support to Palestine refugees from Syria.

Out of the €30 million announced today to help Lebanon to cope with the refugee crisis, €5 million would be designated for Palestine refugees from Syria.

The additional €30 million brings the total amount of financial assistance offered by the European Union to Lebanon in relation to the Syrian crisis to more than €90 million in humanitarian and non-humanitarian aid.

Through this special measure the European Commission will contribute, in line with the priorities of the Government of Lebanon Response Plan to the Syrian Crisis, to alleviate the medium and longer term needs of both refugees from Syria and host communities in areas in Lebanon with high refugee concentrations.

The European Union continues to look for possibilities of providing further resources to assist and support Lebanon in these challenging times.

While being the smallest of Syria’s neighbouring countries, Lebanon hosts the highest number of refugees. By the last week of March it had received more than 400,000 Syrian refugees, as well as an estimated 40,000 Palestine refugees from Syria.

The EU, with Member States, is the biggest donor of assistance to Syrian refugees both in Syria and in neighbouring countries and has provided almost €580 million of support since the beginning of the crisis.

So far EU support to the consequences of the Syrian crisis in Lebanon is mainly implemented through UN agencies in the country, and goes both to emergency humanitarian response and to alleviate the medium and longer term needs of both refugees and Lebanese host communities which are predominantly in the poorest and most neglected regions of the country.