Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. (Credit: National News Agency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun spoke on Tuesday by phone with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to offer his condolences for the victims of the terrorist attack that targeted the Greek Orthodox Saint Elias Church in the Dwelaa district of Damascus on Sunday evening, the Lebanese presidency announced in a message on its X account.
This attack claimed 25 victims and was attributed to an Islamist group calling itself "Ansar al-Sunna." Syrian authorities announced that they had made six arrests of individuals involved in the suicide attack.
During the phone call, Aoun condemned this attack, which resulted in the deaths of innocent victims in a religious building. He expressed Lebanon's solidarity with the families of the victims to the Syrian president, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.
Sharaa assured that the Syrian authorities have arrested the individuals involved in this attack, stating that they are part of a terrorist cell. He insisted that his government would take measures to prevent further attacks.
On Monday afternoon, the Lebanese presidency announced that Aoun extended his condolences to his Syrian counterpart, Sharaa, and to Orthodox Patriarch John X Yazigi.
On Sunday, Aoun had offered his "sincere condolences to the Greek Orthodox Church" and called on "the Syrian authorities to take the necessary measures to ... protect all Syrian citizens." The next day, he sent a letter to his Syrian counterpart to offer his condolences.
