VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday called for peace in the Middle East based on “respect for legitimate differences” before his Lebanon trip this week as the conflict in neighbouring Syria rages. “We ask God to give this region of the world the peace it so desires, based on respect for legitimate differences. May God bless Lebanon and the Middle East,” the pope said at the end of his weekly audience in the Vatican. The pope’s comments came shortly after the interior ministry in Libya confirmed that the US ambassador and three officials were killed when a mob attacked the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday.The armed mob was protesting against a low-budget film deemed offensive to Islam and the attack came after protesters scaled the walls of the US embassy in Cairo, tearing down the American flag to replace it with an Islamic one.In Wednesday’s speech the pope also called for Christians in the Middle East “to be builders of peace and players in reconciliation”.He called on governments to help Christians “continue to bear witness to Christ in these blessed lands, seeking communion and unity.”The pope said the history of the Middle East showed the “important and often primordial role” played by Christian communities in promoting dialogue.