The Syrian President of the Transitional Authority, Ahmed al-Sharaa, confirmed that French President Emmanuel Macron has decided to proceed with his visit to Damascus despite the two bombings that occurred Tuesday morning near the Four Seasons Hotel, where he was staying. Al-Sharaa praised what he described as the “courage” of his French counterpart.
Speaking during a joint press conference, Al-Sharaa said: “I salute the courage of President Macron. When he received the news of the bombing, he immediately announced the continuation of his visit to Syria.”
He added that there are parties displeased with Syria’s success or the return of stability, emphasizing that the attack will not deter the state from continuing its rebuilding efforts. He stressed that investigations are ongoing and those responsible for the bombing will be apprehended soon.
Al-Sharaa’s statements come at a time when the Syrian Ministry of Interior announced progress in the investigations, confirming that it has reached an “important clue” that could lead to uncovering the identities of those involved in the twin bombings.
The Ministry’s spokesperson, Nour el-Din al-Baba, stated that the two bombings were carried out using improvised explosive devices (IEDs). He noted that one of them targeted the security cordon designated to protect French President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to Damascus. He added that preliminary data indicates the incident carries political dimensions and messages linked to its timing, rather than being just a passing security breach.
Two explosions had shaken the center of the capital, Damascus, near the Four Seasons Hotel, about ten minutes after Macron left the venue following his participation in an Iftar banquet.
Surveillance cameras showed a car in which an IED exploded as part of the twin bombings, while the driver’s features appeared in the footage. However, his identity and fate remain unknown, and it remains unclear whether he was killed in the explosion or was the perpetrator of the operation.
According to circulated information, one of the explosions occurred inside the car, while the other targeted a waste container close to the site, triggering a widespread security alert in the area.
Despite the incident, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the continuation of his visit to Damascus, saying: “Nothing can stifle the aspirations of the Syrians.”
For its part, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the vicinity of the Ministry of Tourism, near the Four Seasons Hotel in central Damascus, witnessed two consecutive explosions this morning. According to an initial toll, the blasts resulted in the injury of about 20 people, including the Assistant Minister of Tourism and four police officers, in addition to the burning of a car.
According to SOHR sources, the first explosion was caused by an IED planted inside a civilian car near the Ministry of Tourism building, causing a fire to break out. This was followed seconds later by a second, more powerful explosion. Preliminary information indicates it resulted from an IED placed inside a garbage container, causing panic and material damage in the surrounding area.
The Observatory added that the injured were transferred to Al-Mujtahid Hospital in Damascus for treatment, while civil defense teams managed to extinguish the fire, coinciding with a heavy security deployment around the site of the two explosions.
The party responsible for the two bombings remains unknown so far, while security agencies continue their investigations amid anticipation for further information regarding the circumstances of the incident and the final results of the investigations.
In a related context, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that it monitored a widespread wave of resentment and incitement on social media platforms following the two explosions that shook the vicinity of the Ministry of Tourism and the Four Seasons Hotel in the heart of the capital, Damascus, this Tuesday morning, which left about 20 wounded, including the Assistant Minister of Tourism and police officers.
The security incident quickly turned into “attractive material” for many loyalist accounts and pages on social media, which rushed to exploit the twin bombings to launch systematic and targeted treason campaigns, filled with language of threats and hatred against Syrian minorities and components.
The Observatory stated that the past hours witnessed a remarkable escalation in the tone of threats issued by individuals loyal to the transitional government, where random and direct accusations were directed at the Kurdish component and other sects, such as the Alawites and others. Even women were not spared from defamation, skepticism, and accusations of espionage and responsibility for security breaches in the capital.
These inciting campaigns were accompanied by implicit threats that raised public concern. Some of them included formulas of menace and the postponement of accountability, such as “waiting until the guests leave” and the passing of certain occasions to “start the settlement of accounts.” This opens the door to real fears of exploiting these unknown developments to justify future violations and liquidations against civilians from various components, and to deepen the social rift that is already critical in the country.
Note: This text is translated from the original Arabic version… Read the Arabic version:Click here
