E-Paper
Sign In
UAE condemns bombings in Syria after 18 injured in Damascus
On July 7, two bombs exploded near a hotel in Damascus, where Macron spent the night, wounding 18 people; the first blast hit soon after his motorcade left for the presidential palace
- PUBLISHED: Tue 7 Jul 2026, 7:21 PM
UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it condemned the two "terrorist" bombings near the Ministry of Tourism in Damascus, and stressed solidarity with Syria.
UAE also said it "rejects all forms of violence and terrorism that aim to undermine security and stability." The UAE ministry expressed wishes for a speedy recovery for all the injured, the statement read.
Recommended For You
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
On July 7, two bombs exploded near a hotel in Damascus, where French President Emmanuel Macron spent the night, wounding 18 people.
Macron, whose motorcade left the hotel shortly before the blasts, pressed ahead with his visit, meeting Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa at the presidential palace. His office said he had not heard the blasts.
The explosions struck a busy area of Damascus between the Tourism Ministry and the national museum across the street from the Four Seasons hotel, where a source in Macron's delegation and Syrian security sources said he had spent the night and had met civil society groups on Tuesday morning.
Posting on X just after the blasts, Macron said his visit continued and praised the "dignity, courage and determination" of Syrians he had met.
"We are not naive about the risks, but they are being managed," Macron said later in a news conference with Sharaa. "Certain groups" sought to prevent "Syria's full and complete reintegration into the international community", he added.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday's attack. Sharaa said investigations were ongoing.
Flames and billowing smoke
The first blast hit soon after Macron's motorcade left for the presidential palace. Reuters footage showed flames and smoke billowing from the site, when a second explosion was caught on camera a few metres (yards) away.
The second blast went off next to an ambulance parked at the scene, where some two dozen people had gathered.
Reuters video showed Macron's motorcade heading along a highway towards the presidential palace before the blasts.
The Syrian Interior Ministry said security forces had identified the bombs and were preparing to defuse them when they exploded.
The bombs — one of them placed in a car parked on the roadside and the other in a trash can — were planted outside a security cordon around Macron's place of residence, and posed no threat to his visit, the ministry said.
Internal security forces have launched search operations to identify those responsible, it said.
The French Presidency said the blasts were not audible from the presidential motorcade and a Reuters journalist with the press group accompanying Macron did not hear them.