Explosions heard in Damascus during French president’s visit

DAMASCUS: Two explosions took place in central Damascus on Tuesday near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron spent the night, a Syrian security source told AFP.

The blasts came moments before Syrian state television announced Macron’s arrival to the presidential palace to meet leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The French president, the first Western European leader to visit Syria since the fall of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024, was safe and will continue his visit, France’s Elysee Palace said.

One of the bombs was placed in a dumpster and the other in a vehicle near the Four Seasons Hotel, the security source said, requesting anonymity.

AFP journalists heard at least one blast echo through Damascus before seeing a plume of smoke rising near the hotel, with security forces closing a road and ambulances heading to the scene.

An AFP photographer near the tourism ministry, opposite the hotel, saw windows damaged by one of the explosions, amid a heavy security presence.

“I saw three traffic police officers injured on the ground before the area was evacuated and the roads leading to it were closed,” Hamam Hammoud, a 37-year-old employee at a money exchange company, told AFP.

The explosions are the second since Thursday, when 10 people were killed in a bombing in a Damascus cafe.

The French president had postponed announcing the date of his visit to Damascus until his plane landed on Monday for security reasons.