Damascus [Syria], July 7 : Several explosions were heard at Damascus on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reported. Footage accessed by Al Jazeera showed plumes of smoke rising in the sky. The cause of the blasts was not immediately clear and there was no immediate information about casualties.
Two explosions were reportedly heard near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was meant to be staying during a visit to the capital. Authorities sealed off roads after the explosions, as per Al Jazeera.
Macron on Monday (local time) reaffirmed France's support for the Syrian people and called for a sovereign, united and peaceful Syria as he arrived in Damascus on his first official visit to the country.
The event marks the first official visit to Syria by a serving European Union head of state.
In a post shared on X, Macron said, "I have come to express France's commitment to the Syrian people. For a sovereign Syria, united in its diversity and at peace with its neighbours. Together, let us open a new chapter of stability and peace."
https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/2074175478227669488?s=20
Earlier on July 3, a bomb blast ripped through a cafe in central Damascus near the Palace of Justice killing five people and injuring 20 others sans immediate claim of responsibility, Al Jazeera reported.
Maher Marwan Idlibi, the Governor of Damascus, said the investigation into the attack is ongoing. He confirmed that an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was planted in the cafe, and at least one suspect fleeing the area was pursued and captured.
Idlibi further said there are "bad actors" trying to destabilise the country when the government is working to rebuild and stabilise the economic and security situation. Neither did he categorise this as a terrorist attack, nor did he link it to a proscribed organisation such as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as Daesh, as per Al Jazeera.