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Damascus Mufti Killed in Car Explosion

The damaged vehicle of Mohammed Adnan Afiouni in the countryside near Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 22, 2020. Credit: SANA/Handout via REUTERS
The damaged vehicle of Mohammed Adnan Afiouni in the countryside near Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 22, 2020. Credit: SANA/Handout via REUTERS
    Damascus, London- Asharq Al-Awsat
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Damascus Mufti Killed in Car Explosion

The damaged vehicle of Mohammed Adnan Afiouni in the countryside near Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 22, 2020. Credit: SANA/Handout via REUTERS
The damaged vehicle of Mohammed Adnan Afiouni in the countryside near Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 22, 2020. Credit: SANA/Handout via REUTERS

A prominent pro-regime Syrian Muslim cleric in charge of the Damascus region Adnan al-Afiyuni was killed on Thursday when a bomb planted in his car exploded outside the capital, news agency SANA reported.

Afiyuni, the mufti for Damascus province, was considered to be close to President Bashar al-Assad.

SANA, quoting the Ministry of Endowments, said that Afiyuni died “when an explosive device planted in his car exploded in the town of Qudsaya, northwest of Damascus.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said the 66-year-old cleric played a key role in reaching so-called “reconciliation deals” with rebel fighters on the capital's outskirts during the country's nine-year war.

In September 2016, Afiyuni led prayers as Assad made a rare public appearance to celebrate the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday in the town of Daraya near Damascus.

This was after the last rebels had left and the town’s civilian population had been forcibly evacuated the previous month under a surrender deal.

Afiyuni was also a member of Syria’s Islamic Jurisprudence Council and Chief Administrator of the Damascus International Islamic Center for Countering Extremism.

No one has claimed killing Afiyuni.

Assassinations like this have become rare in Damascus after government forces seized full control over Damascus neighborhoods in 2018 that were previously under the control of ISIS.

This includes Eastern Ghouta, which for years was the most prominent stronghold rebels near Damascus.

In 2013, Sheikh Muhammad Ramadan Saeed Al-Buti was killed in an explosion in Damascus.

Afiyuni assumed his duties in May 2019 after receiving a direct order from Assad.

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Egypt Strengthens Cooperation with Africa to Tackle Water Challenges

Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
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Egypt Strengthens Cooperation with Africa to Tackle Water Challenges

Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)

Egypt is continuing to strengthen its cooperation with African nations to confront the pressing challenges of water and food security.

“Water issues are a shared challenge that grows more severe due to climate change and resource scarcity, especially given Egypt’s near-total dependence on Nile water,” Egyptian Minister of Irrigation Hani Sewilam said, according to an official statement by the Egyptian Cabinet on Friday.

Speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister during a celebration at the Djibouti Embassy in Cairo marking Djibouti’s 48th independence anniversary, Sewilam emphasized that cross-border cooperation, rooted in principles of international law, is the optimal path to ensure sustainable water resources.

Egypt frequently raises the issue of water security, particularly amid the ongoing crisis over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia has built on the main tributary of the Nile since 2011 to generate electricity. Egypt and Sudan fear it will impact their water shares.

Ambassador Salah Halima, former Assistant Foreign Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Egyptian Council for African Affairs, stressed that water security is closely linked to river management and dam operations. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt consistently underscores the importance of respecting international laws and agreements on managing water resources and criticized Ethiopia’s unilateral actions to impose a de facto situation regarding the dam.

Halima added that achieving water security requires cooperation among states in managing water resources and constructing dams, noting that Egypt has valuable experience African nations can benefit from.

Egypt faces a water deficit estimated at 30 billion cubic meters annually. Its share of Nile water amounts to 55.5 billion cubic meters per year, while consumption exceeds 85 billion cubic meters. The shortfall is covered by groundwater extraction, seawater desalination projects, and recycling agricultural drainage water, according to the Ministry of Irrigation.

On Friday, Sewilam highlighted the longstanding ties between Egypt and Djibouti as an example of cooperation amid complex regional and global challenges requiring greater unity and shared vision. He noted that the regional and international context demands an understanding of the magnitude of challenges, ranging from security and peace to sustainable development and socio-economic stability, especially in the Arab and African regions.

Egypt is finalizing a memorandum of understanding with Djibouti’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to cooperate in fields such as integrated water resources management, desalination technologies, groundwater recharge, capacity building, knowledge exchange, and joint research.

In parallel, Egyptian Minister of Agriculture Alaa Farouk reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to working with African countries to develop more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable agricultural value chains. Speaking during FAO meetings in Rome, he said that strengthening these chains is central to food security, economic growth, and job creation, particularly in rural areas. Farouk also discussed promoting Egyptian investment in Africa to boost agricultural development and food security across the continent.