Bomb explosions injure 18 in Damascus during Macron's visit

Eighteen people have been injured by two bomb explosions in central Damascus during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, the Syrian government has said.

The blasts happened near the Four Seasons hotel, where Macron spent the night and met civil society groups on Tuesday morning.

The Syrian interior ministry said security forces detected two explosive devices in a parked car and a bin, which blew up as specialists began the process of defusing them, state news agency Sana reported.

French officials said Macron was safe and did not hear the explosions. Shortly afterwards, he held talks with his Syrian counterpart, Ahmed al-Sharaa, at the presidential palace.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but a spokesman for Syria's interior ministry said that "an initial lead pointing to those who are responsible" had been discovered.

The incident has underscored the major security challenges the authorities in Syria continue to face and overshadowed the first visit to the country by an EU leader since the fall of the Assad regime in 2024.

One video posted on social media on Tuesday morning showed security forces and first responders standing near a burning vehicle on a major thoroughfare running through the capital, close to the ministry of tourism's headquarters.

The footage then shows a second explosion only a few metres away.

BBC Verify analysis located the explosions at approximately 125m (410ft) from the Four Seasons hotel.

One eyewitness told BBC Arabic's Middle East Daily that they had been standing in front of the ministry of tourism when the first explosion occurred.

They said that while security forces were searching for suspicious objects after the first bomb detonated, "a second explosion occurred approximately 20m from the site of the first blast".

"The first explosion caused material damage but no casualties. The second explosion, however, caused injuries to several members of the public security forces and the traffic police," the eyewitness told the BBC.

The interior ministry said four police officers were among the injured.

Spokesman Nour al-Din al-Baba told reporters that the explosive devices were planted minutes before the blasts just outside the security perimeter that had been designated for Macron's accommodation.

As reports of the explosions came in, Syrian state television said that Sharaa had welcomed Macron to the presidential palace.

Writing on social media after the blasts, Macron said: "Nothing can smother the aspiration of Syrian women and men to live in a fully sovereign, safe, pluralistic, and united Syria.

"This morning I met Syria in all its diversity. I saw dignity, courage, and determination. My visit continues."

Later, at a joint news conference with Sharaa, Macron said people "must at once stand alongside those who have been injured [by the bombings], continue to be uncompromising on security… but not let ourselves be destabilised."

Sharaa praised Macron's "courage" for continuing his visit.

Apart from security issues, Macron's visit was focused on Syria's difficult economic situation, with reconstruction expected to be one of the main themes.

He was joined by French business leaders and visited an economic forum where 15 bilateral agreements in sectors including civil aviation, health and banking were signed.

The French president's trip underlines Syria's return to the global stage 19 months after Sharaa's Islamist group led the rebel offensive that overthrew Bashar al-Assad.

Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander from Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, has vowed to unify a divided country after five decades of repressive rule of the Assad family and a devastating 13-year-long civil war.

His government faces security challenges from a range of armed groups, including the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), which has claimed a series of attacks in recent months.

Last week, a bomb blast at a crowded cafe in central Damascus killed at least nine people and injured 22 others, according to Syrian state media.

Pro-government forces were also involved in violence against religious and ethnic minority groups that killed hundreds of people last year.

Additional reporting by Richard Irvine-Brown