Twin Bombings in Syria Draw Int'l Condemnation

DAMASCUS (NNN-Bernama) -- The international community strongly condemned two bloody suicide bombings in Syria Friday, and called for an end to "all forms of violence" in the Arab country, reports China's Xinhua news agency.

Members of the UN Security Council denounced the terrorist attacks in the capital Damascus which caused scores of deaths and injuries, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, said in a statement.

"The members of the Security Council reiterated their determination to combat all forms of terrorism, in accordance with its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations," the statement said.

Car bombers struck two security service bases in central Damascus on Friday morning, leaving at least 44 people dead and 166 others injured.

The worst violence since protests erupted against President Bashar al-Assad in mid-March came only a day after the first batch of Arab League (AL) monitors arrived in Damascus to assess whether the country abided by an Arab peace plan to end the crackdown on protesters.

"The style of the attacks refers to al-Qaeda," the Syrian Interior Ministry noted in a statement.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also expressed grave concern over the escalating violence in Syria, adding that "all violence is unacceptable and must stop immediately."

He urged "a credible, inclusive and legitimate Syria-led process of comprehensive political change that will address the democratic aspirations of the Syrian people."

Mark Toner, spokesman of the US State Department, also denounced the bloodshed in Syria. "There is no justification for terrorism of any kind, and we condemn these acts wherever they occur," he said.

"It is crucial that Friday's attack not impede the critical work of the Arab League monitoring mission to document and deter human rights abuses with the goal of protecting civilians," Toner said.

Besides, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman and Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour also condemned the blasts as "terrorist attacks," saying they were aimed at undermining the AL's efforts to resolve the political crisis in Syria.

"We offer our heartfelt condolences to the families of the martyrs and express our deep grief and condemnation of this heinous crime ... We also wish the injured a speedy recovery and hope that security and stability would be restored to Syria," Mansour said.

Samir Seif al-Yazal, head of the advance team of the AL observer mission in Syria, told reporters that what had happened was regrettable, but the most important thing was that everyone should stay calm.

He rushed to the bomb site along with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.

The Jordanian government also strongly condemned the bloody violence in Syria and hoped the killings would end. -- NNN-BERNAMA