Syria takes bold action as it tightens security after Damascus blast | Political Affairs

Damascus, Syria – Government officials have stepped up security in Damascus following a bomb blast that rocked the Syrian capital and he tested the limits of the current government of this country.

The Ministry of Interior established a number of security measures, including patrolling with heavy weapons, to follow a deadly explosion at the cafe on July 2 and the twin explosions on Tuesday during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron.

Visitor centers have also been established in difficult areas across the city, while the main government buildings, judicial institutions and foreign embassies have been given extended areas, reinforced with concrete walls and the necessary search for vehicles.

In the latest attacktwo improvised explosive devices – one hidden in a roadside bin and the other hidden inside a parked car – were detonated at around 10:15am (07:15 GMT) as bomb disposal teams were preparing to defuse them.

One person he was killed and 36 were injured in the attack that took place near the hotel where Macron spent the night, but outside the protection provided to the French delegation and “did not directly threaten” the President, according to government officials.

Protecting capital

Special security forces have since begun sweeping operations, using surveillance images to track ownership of the vehicle used in the bombing and searching the city for second-hand weapons.

“Surveillance and monitoring can help people stay safe, but preventing this type of attack requires intelligence work, mapping, managing damaged weapons, improving information sharing and building partnerships with the community,” said Navvar Saban, a security and military researcher at the Arab Center for Contemporary Studies in Syria.

Interior Ministry spokesman Nureddin al-Baba, speaking at the scene, said the blast “does not pose a direct threat” to Macron and confirmed that the authorities have already identified those responsible, without elaborating. “Recently, we got the first lead pointing to those responsible,” he said.

Officials said similar to last week’s blast at a busy cafe frequented by lawyers and secretaries from the nearby Palace of Justice that killed at least 10 people and injured dozens more.

There have been no claims of responsibility for any of the attacks which come 18 months after former dictator Bashar al-Assad was ousted in a years-long war.

A Syrian security source familiar with the probe said on Tuesday that the Syrian Army’s General Intelligence has been seizing “a large number of explosives” every day and “Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) explosive drones”.

The source, who chose to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak to the media, “terrorist cells that we saw in central and southern Syria are linked to the IRGC. The attack was carried out by a Palestinian-Syrian linked to cells supported by Iran.”

Damascus governor Maher Marwan al-Idlibi said that although security improved during the Assad transition, “the more stable Syria is, the more there are those who want to destroy it” – a view expressed by al-Sharaa after their meeting on Tuesday.

“We don’t know about these threats, but they are being managed,” Macron told reporters, saying that “some groups” want to prevent “Syria from fully reuniting with the rest of the world”.

A very high level of planning

However, repeated attacks have deeply disturbed people in Damascus, challenging the talk of a peaceful transition.

The government is working hard to present an image of a functioning, modern country that can attract funds to rebuild countries and strengthen cooperation with the West – as Macron has signed more than a dozen agreements despite previous attacks.

Transitional officials have also been reshaping the country’s security forces and military to include former members of the al-Assad regime, as well as former fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Explaining the difficulties of the operation, Saban said “it is very important to recognize that the security forces are being rebuilt after many years of war”.

For many Syrians, the road closures, heavy patrols and increased media coverage conjure up memories of the country’s long-running war, fueling fears that the capital remains at risk of an endless war.

As Damascus quietly settles under the watchful eye of newly deployed security forces, observers say the transitional leadership faces a balancing act: It must address internal security threats without undermining the sense of stability and civil liberties needed to assert its rule.

Saban said increased security alone may not be enough to stop violence like last week’s.

“The cost barriers to planning these types of explosives are low,” he said.

“This is why security agencies need to move away from passive security after an attack and adopt real-time intelligence-based defense strategies to stop these attacks using human intelligence and intelligence, as well as threat analysis.”