Suicide bombing at Damascus church kills at least 22, UN Syria envoy shares ‘outrage’

People and rescuers inspect the damage at the site of a reported suicide attack at the Saint Elias church in Damascus’ Dwelaa area on June 22, 2025. (AFP)
1 / 2
People and rescuers inspect the damage at the site of a reported suicide attack at the Saint Elias church in Damascus’ Dwelaa area on June 22, 2025. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 23 June 2025
Follow

Suicide bombing at Damascus church kills at least 22, UN Syria envoy shares ‘outrage’

People and rescuers inspect the damage at the site of a reported suicide attack at the Saint Elias church in Damascus’ Dwelaa.
  • Incident marks the first suicide bombing inside Damascus since Bashar Assad was toppled in December

DAMASCUS: At least 22 people were killed and more than 50 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Syria’s capital Damascus on Sunday, security sources said.

The incident marks the first suicide bombing inside Damascus since Bashar Assad was toppled in December.

Syria’s interior ministry said the suicide bomber was a member of Daesh. He entered the church, opened fire and then detonated his explosive vest, the ministry added in a statement.

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two men were involved in the attack, including the one who blew himself up.

Syria’s state news agency had previously cited the health ministry as putting the preliminary casualty toll at nine dead and 13 injured.

A livestream from the site by Syria’s civil defense, the White Helmets, showed scenes of destruction from within the church, including a bloodied floor and shattered church pews and masonry.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who led the offensive against Assad before taking over in January for a transitional phase, has repeatedly said he will protect minorities during his tenure.

The Syrian foreign ministry said the attack was an attempt to undermine coexistence in the multi-sectarian, multi-ethnic country. Syria considers "this criminal act, which targeted members of the Christian community, a desperate attempt to undermine national coexistence and to destabilise the country", the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Turkiye’s foreign ministry said the “treacherous” attack in Damascus aimed to disrupt efforts to achieve stability and security in Syria.
“Our belief is full that the Syrian administration and its people will maintain their unity and solidarity, and continue with determination the battle with terrorist organization wanting to create chaos in the country,” the ministry said in a statement, adding Turkiye would continue supporting Syria.

United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen “condemned in the strongest possible terms” the attack, according to a statement.

He expressed his “outrage” at what he called a “heinous crime.”

The statement said Pedersen took note that the Syrian interim authorities attributed this attack to Daesh and called for a full investigation and action by the authorities.

Pedersen called on all to unite in “rejecting terrorism, extremism, incitement and the targeting of any community in Syria.” 

He sent his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and his hope for the recovery of those injured.

* With AFP


Greece, EU to press Libya on migrant crossings as Mediterranean numbers surge

Updated 1 min 52 sec ago
Follow

Greece, EU to press Libya on migrant crossings as Mediterranean numbers surge

Greece, EU to press Libya on migrant crossings as Mediterranean numbers surge
Commissioner Magnus Brunner plans to travel to Libya next week with government representatives from Greece, Italy and Malta
“We’re traveling together to Libya next week because we have to be fast, I think, and firm,” Brunner said

ATHENS: The European Union ‘s commissioner for migration says Europe will take a “firm” approach with authorities in Libya following a spike in illegal migration across the Mediterranean.

Commissioner Magnus Brunner plans to travel to Libya next week with government representatives from Greece, Italy and Malta, seeking tougher measures from Libyan authorities to stop boats carrying migrants from leaving for Europe.

“That is actually a question which bothers us quite a lot at the moment. Libya is, of course, at the top of the agenda, and we’re traveling together to Libya next week because we have to be fast, I think, and firm,” Brunner said Tuesday at a conference in Athens.

Brunner, who discussed the upcoming visit at a meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said the delegation would meet with representatives from both the United Nations-recognized government in western Libya and a rival authority in the east.

Greece recently announced plans to send warships to international waters in the region following a surge in crossings from Libya to the southern Greek island of Crete — a more perilous route than the more frequently used passage between Turkiye and nearby Greek islands.

In 2023, hundreds died when the fishing trawler Adriana, carrying migrants from Libya to Italy, sank off Greek waters.

Nine die, 27 hospitalized from methanol poisoning in alcoholic beverages in Jordan

Nine die, 27 hospitalized from methanol poisoning in alcoholic beverages in Jordan
Updated 5 sec ago
Follow

Nine die, 27 hospitalized from methanol poisoning in alcoholic beverages in Jordan

Nine die, 27 hospitalized from methanol poisoning in alcoholic beverages in Jordan
  • Ministry of Health reported that most patients are in a critical condition, with some requiring ventilator support in intensive care units
  • Authorities raided a factory and arrested suspects who purchased methyl alcohol and used it to manufacture illicit alcoholic beverages

LONDON: The Jordanian Ministry of Health announced that nine people died and 27 others were hospitalized this week due to poisoning after consuming alcoholic drinks contaminated with methanol.

The affected individuals are currently receiving intensive medical treatment, including dialysis to remove the toxic substance from their bloodstream, at hospitals in Zarqa, Amman and Balqa, Director of the Technical Affairs Department at the Ministry Imad Abu Yaqeen told Petra news agency.

Most patients were in a critical condition, he said, with some requiring ventilator support in intensive care units. Methanol, a highly toxic substance, is not intended for oral consumption and is used as a solvent in paints and as a fuel additive.

Abu Yaqeen said that dialysis remained the most crucial life-saving measure, along with ventilator support. However, these interventions might be less effective if significant amounts of methanol were ingested, he added.

He said that the first cases reported over the weekend were at Zarqa Government Hospital, and the ministry is continuing to enhance preparedness in the emergency and ambulance departments to handle any new cases.

On Monday, Jordan's Public Security Directorate, or PSD, arrested several individuals suspected of producing toxic alcoholic beverages using industrial methanol.

The PSD raided a factory where suspects purchased methyl alcohol and used it to manufacture illicit alcoholic beverages, as well as a warehouse that supplied the substance to the market. Additionally, authorities seized large quantities of alcohol from stores that the factory produced.


Children dying in South Sudan after US aid cuts: NGO

Children dying in South Sudan after US aid cuts: NGO
Updated 31 min 17 sec ago
Follow

Children dying in South Sudan after US aid cuts: NGO

Children dying in South Sudan after US aid cuts: NGO
  • The British Lancet journal projected that the cuts to USAID could lead to more than 14 million deaths by 2030
  • Rwot estimated they had lost 30 percent of their funding due to the USAID cuts

NAIROBI: The impact of US aid cuts has already taken a toll in South Sudan and children are dying, Action Against Hunger told AFP on Tuesday.

The east African nation has remained deeply poor and unstable since independence in 2011 and is massively dependent on international aid despite its oil wealth.

It is among the countries facing shortfalls following US President Donald Trump’s decision to slash funding for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which had provided over 40 percent of global humanitarian aid.

On Tuesday, the British Lancet journal projected that the cuts to USAID could lead to more than 14 million deaths by 2030, including over 4.5 million children under the age of five.

“I think it’s not just a fear. It’s already a reality. We’re already having some mortality rates coming in,” said Denish Ogen Rwot, Action Against Hunger’s communication and advocacy lead in South Sudan.

“Already we are having children die,” he added.

The international NGO works across South Sudan, including in the increasingly violent Jonglei state, providing food and supplies.

Rwot estimated they had lost 30 percent of their funding due to the USAID cuts.

“That means now we’ll have facilities without food... and how do we work without these supplies?,” he asked.

Rwot recently visited northern Warrap state, near the border with Sudan — itself enduring a civil war — describing how the warehouses there were “very empty.”

“They’re still registering people, but there is no food for them,” he said.

It comes a day after the World Food Programme (WFP) warned that acute malnutrition rates among refugee children in South Sudan — fleeing the war in Sudan — had “already breached emergency thresholds.”

Action Against Hunger has been forced to reduce its staffing in the country from 300 to 86, further impacting its ability to respond during a crisis.

“We are running on sheer faith,” Rwot said.


Food supplies to some Sudan refugees could dry up within 2 months, WFP says

Food supplies to some Sudan refugees could dry up within 2 months, WFP says
Updated 01 July 2025
Follow

Food supplies to some Sudan refugees could dry up within 2 months, WFP says

Food supplies to some Sudan refugees could dry up within 2 months, WFP says
  • “Unless new funding is secured, all refugees will face assistance cuts in the coming months,” Hughes told a Geneva press briefing
  • Many of those fleeing are escaping from hunger hot spots in Sudan

GENEVA: Food aid to help Sudanese refugees in four neighboring countries could end within the next couple of months without an urgent injection of new funding, a World Food Programme official said on Tuesday, warning of rising malnutrition levels.

Over 4 million refugees have fled Sudan’s more than two-year civil war to seven neighboring countries where shelter conditions are widely viewed as inadequate due to chronic funding shortages.

“Unless new funding is secured, all refugees will face assistance cuts in the coming months,” Shaun Hughes, the WFP’s emergency coordinator for the Sudan regional crisis, told a Geneva press briefing, calling for $200 million over six months.

“In the case of four countries — that’s the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya — WFP’s operations are now so severely underfunded, that all support could cease in the coming months as resources run dry,” he said, clarifying later that this could happen within two months.

Many of those fleeing are escaping from hunger hot spots in Sudan. A joint UN report said last month the country was at immediate risk of famine.

Hughes said that any reduction or end to rations would leave child refugees at a greater risk of malnutrition.

Asked why the funding had fallen, he cited reductions from donors across the board and rising humanitarian needs.

He added that the United States, which has reduced its foreign aid spending dramatically under President Donald Trump, remained its top donor for Sudan.


UAE foreign minister reaffirms Abu Dhabi’s support for UN’s nuclear watchdog

UAE foreign minister reaffirms Abu Dhabi’s support for UN’s nuclear watchdog
Updated 01 July 2025
Follow

UAE foreign minister reaffirms Abu Dhabi’s support for UN’s nuclear watchdog

UAE foreign minister reaffirms Abu Dhabi’s support for UN’s nuclear watchdog
  • Emirati minister discussed the regional situation with the IAEA chief and exchanged views on current developments in the Middle East
  • Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said UAE values its partnership with the IAEA, which has been essential in advancing Abu Dhabi’s peaceful nuclear program

LONDON: Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, minister of foreign affairs, discussed cooperation between the UAE and the International Atomic Energy Agency during a call on Tuesday with IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi.

The Emirati minister discussed the regional situation with the IAEA chief and exchanged views on current developments in the Middle East, according to the Emirates News Agency.

Sheikh Abdullah highlighted the UAE’s support for the IAEA’s role in promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy for sustainable development, in line with international safety and non-proliferation standards.

The UAE values its partnership with the IAEA, he said, which has been essential in advancing Abu Dhabi’s peaceful nuclear program to provide clean electricity while upholding international standards for safety, security and non-proliferation.