The situation in Lebanon remained fragile, despite some hopeful recent signs, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast told the Security Council on Wednesday.

"Lebanon must be free of such acts of violence and intimidation," Prendergast said when mentioning a bombing in the city of Jouniehthe on May 6.

"Lebanon was now preparing the parliamentary elections later this month," he said. "A UN team had begun its work in Beirut on May 9 to prepare the provision of support and technical assistance for those elections."

"The Organization would also support international observers from other countries and organizations," he added.

Meanwhile, Prendergast said the United Nations had continued its efforts to establish the International Independent Investigation Commission into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri.

The United Nations planned to deploy investigators and other substantive personnel on a rolling basis in the coming weeks to enable the work of the Commission to proceed as quickly as possible, he added.

Listing a series of incidents last week that had "escalated tensions along the Blue Line to an alarming degree," he urged that hostile acts and infractions across the Blue Line must stop.

He pointed out that while last week's firing incidents had been ultimately contained, the risk was great that events would spiral out of control.

"One violation could not justify another," he stressed. "Stability in south Lebanon depended to a large extent on the Government of Lebanon exercising its authority over all of its territory."

"It is our sincere hope that recent events in the region will be remembered as a new start on the road towards peace, rather than slide back into conflict and violent confrontation," he concluded.

(Xinhua News Agency May 19, 2005)