Explosions rock Damascus near hotel where Macron stayed
Fire near a hotel after a bomb explosion, Syria, July 7 (Photo: REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar)
Two explosions rocked central Damascus near the hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron stayed overnight ahead of talks in Syria, security sources told AFP, as the French leader visited the country before traveling to a NATO summit in Ankara on July 7.
Witnesses saw smoke rising from an area near a hotel in central Damascus where French President Emmanuel Macron had spent the night before leaving in the morning for talks at the presidential palace.
Macron is making his first official visit to Syria since the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
According to a source, one explosive device had been placed in a trash bin and another inside a vehicle near the Four Seasons Hotel.
A Le Figaro correspondent in Damascus reported that Macron arrived at the Syrian presidential palace for talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa before attending other official meetings. The Élysée Palace later said Macron was safe and continuing his visit.
Macron's trip came after a bomb explosion at a café in central Damascus on June 30 killed 10 people.
On April 5, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his first visit to Damascus.
During the visit, Zelenskyy held talks with al-Sharaa and said they discussed the situation in the Middle East and Russia's war against Ukraine.
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