Introduction to the evening news 23-12-2011

A double suicide car bombing rocked the center of Damascus, more particularly the neighborhood of Kfar Sousa, a diplomatic neighborhood and the congregation of Syrian intelligence centers.       
The event itself is very significant and dangerous; Damascus was almost immune from the bloody incidents that have been sweeping through Syria for the past 9 months, but the car bombing came to pose a serious threat to the Syrian capital’s security.         

As for the timing, the twin blasts occurred a day after the first wave of an Arab League monitoring mission arrived in Damascus, and in the wake of two major political developments: first, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem announced, a few days ago, that the Arab monitors will see with their own eyes the terrorism Syria has fallen prey to. Second, a Lebanese governmental source told AFP the day before yesterday that Lebanese authorities informed the government that some Qaeda members infiltrated into Syria through the town of Arsal. The Syrians used this statement to say that Al Qaeda is behind both explosions.       

As for the Syrian National Council, it declared that the Syrian regime is the only party behind the twin blasts.         

The Syrian accusation did not match that of Hezbollah which announced, in a statement, that only the U.S. or terrorist organizations are capable of carrying out such attacks.         

Former PM Saad Hariri neither seconded Damascus nor Hezbollah. He believed that the blast was made by the Syrian regime. As for Washington, it only warned that the blasts must not impede the work of the Arab League monitoring mission.          

Hours passed by since the twin blasts rocked the Syrian capital; however, no one and no party claimed responsibility for them.        

In light of the Syrian developments, Al-Watan Saudi daily announced today that the kingdom is leaning towards closing its embassy in Syria, and quoted an informed Saudi source as saying that Syria has become a dangerous region. Also in the same context, Canada stressed its determination to impose new sanctions on Syria.