Lebanese men play boardgame while others watch Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah delivering a speech at a cafe in Beirut, yesterday. The chief of powerful Lebanese Shia party, a close Damascus ally, said that Syria’s friends would not let the embattled regime of President Bashar Al Assad fall.
DAMASCUS: A bombing in the heart of Damascus killed at least 13 people yesterday, as US President Barack Obama said he would not be rushed to act on allegations Syria was using chemical weapons.
The attack in Marjeh district came a day after Syrian Prime Minister Wael Al Haqi survived a car bombing in an upscale neighbourhood of the capital.
Russia, meanwhile, banned its civilian planes from Syrian airspace after the crew of one reported coming under threat over the war-hit country.
Obama warned against rushing to judgement on Syria’s use of chemical weapons but said proof of their use would trigger a “rethink” of his reluctance to use military force.
“I’ve got to make sure I’ve got the facts. That’s what the American people would expect,” he told a White House news conference.
“If I can establish in a way that not only the United States but also the international community feel confident in the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, then that is a game changer,” he warned.
State television said the latest Damascus blast killed 13 people and wounded 70, and blamed “cowardly” terrorists — the regime term for rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Al Assad.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 14 dead, including nine civilians and five security forces members, in the attack near the old interior ministry.
Official television showed smoke billowing over the scene, with the ministry’s windows blown out, a business complex devastated and cars damaged.
Mutilated bodies could be seen in the street, and at least one body wrapped in a white sheet was laid out alongside an ambulance.
Uniformed and plainclothes security forces could be seen running near the scene, as residents fled.
“What mistake have we committed? I was going to work. Look at the bodies. Is this the freedom they want?” a bystander told state media.
On Monday, a car bomb targeted Haqi’s convoy as it passed through Mazzeh neighbourhood, killing one of his bodyguards and five other people, said the Observatory.
Halqi, appointed premier in August 2012 after his predecessor Riad Hijab defected to the opposition, is the latest in a growing list of regime officials to be targeted for assassination.
In July 2012, a suicide bomb attack killed Syria’s defence minister and deputy defence minister and seriously wounded the interior minister.
As bloodshed continued unabated, the White House said Obama raised “concern over Syrian chemical weapons” in a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Obama is under pressure because he warned last year the use or movement of chemical weapons by Assad’s forces would cross a US “red line”.
Key political players are saying his credibility is on the line, but the White House is seeking precise intelligence into how and when such weapons may have been used. Washington has been deeply frustrated that Russia has blocked tougher action in the UN Security Council, including sanctions, against its long-time ally Syria.
Yesterday, Russia’s air transport agency banned all Russian civilian flights over Syria until further notice.
The ban comes after the crew of a charter plane flying from the Egyptian resort of Sharm Al Sheikh to the Russian city of Kazan on Monday said it had come under threat when it flew over Syria.
The plane carrying 159 passengers said it detected “signs of combat actions” on the ground in Syria, Russian officials said without providing further details.
Interfax news agency, citing a source in Moscow, said unidentified assailants fired two land-to-air missiles at the plane. The aircraft did not suffer any damage and landed in Kazan on time.
The Observatory said air raids yesterday killed 15 people on the outskirts of Mennegh airport, near the northern city of Aleppo which rebels have been trying to capture for months.
Warplanes also bombed the Jubar area of Damascus, and areas of Homs, Raqa and Latakia provinces.
On Monday, at least 159 people were killed in nationwide violence, said the Observatory.
Underlining the dangers of covering the conflict, Italian daily La Stampa said one of its journalists, Domenico Quirico, has not been heard from since April 9.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders says seven journalists are now missing in Syria, while 23 others have been killed.
AFP
