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Sweden Shuts Lebanon Embassy Over Fears of Escalation

A man rides his moped past a billboard bearing portraits of slain leaders, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, Iranian Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani (C), and Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr on the main road near the Beirut International Airport on August 3, 2024. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
A man rides his moped past a billboard bearing portraits of slain leaders, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, Iranian Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani (C), and Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr on the main road near the Beirut International Airport on August 3, 2024. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
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Sweden Shuts Lebanon Embassy Over Fears of Escalation

A man rides his moped past a billboard bearing portraits of slain leaders, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, Iranian Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani (C), and Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr on the main road near the Beirut International Airport on August 3, 2024. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
A man rides his moped past a billboard bearing portraits of slain leaders, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, Iranian Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani (C), and Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr on the main road near the Beirut International Airport on August 3, 2024. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)

Sweden said Saturday it was shutting its embassy in Beirut amid fears the war in Gaza could escalate into a region-wide conflict, after urging thousands of its citizens to leave Lebanon.
The killing of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders this week, blamed on Israel, have heightened regional tensions amid the Gaza war.
“The foreign ministry has instructed its staff to leave Beirut and travel to Cyprus, and the foreign ministry is planning a temporary relocation of its embassy,” Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told Swedish Radio, according to Agence France Presse.
The decision had been taken “initially for the month of August but may be extended depending on the security situation.”
“The ministry is monitoring developments closely,” he said.
According to the foreign ministry, as many as 10,000 Swedish nationals may have traveled to Lebanon this summer, defying a travel warning in place for the country since October 2023.
“I urge Swedes in Lebanon to leave the country by whichever means possible, while they still can,” he said.

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Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
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Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed Monday that those involved in a "heinous" suicide attack on a Damascus church a day earlier would face justice, calling for unity in the country.

The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63, the health ministry said, raising an earlier toll of 22 killed.

The authorities said the attacker was affiliated with the Islamic State group.

"We promise... that we will work night and day, mobilising all our specialized security agencies, to capture all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and to bring them to justice," Sharaa said in a statement, AFP reported.

The attack "reminds us of the importance of solidarity and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation's security and stability", he added.

Condemnation has continued to pour in from the international community after the attack -- the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

It was also the first inside a church in Syria since the country's civil war erupted in 2011, according to a monitor, in a country where security remains one of the new authorities' greatest challenges.

Since the new authorities took power, the international community has repeatedly urged the government to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syria's transition, particularly after sectarian violence in recent months.