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Guterres Calls on 'All Parties' to 'Preserve Stability' in Libya

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks as UN General Assembly appointed him for a second five-year term from January 1, 2022, in New York City, New York, US, June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks as UN General Assembly appointed him for a second five-year term from January 1, 2022, in New York City, New York, US, June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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Guterres Calls on 'All Parties' to 'Preserve Stability' in Libya

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks as UN General Assembly appointed him for a second five-year term from January 1, 2022, in New York City, New York, US, June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks as UN General Assembly appointed him for a second five-year term from January 1, 2022, in New York City, New York, US, June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

UN chief Antonio Guterres called Friday on "all parties to continue to preserve stability in Libya as a top priority," after the country found itself with two competing prime ministers, raising the specter of renewed violence.

The secretary-general reminded "all institutions of the primary goal of holding national elections as soon possible," in a statement saying that he "takes note" of the Libyan parliament's naming of a new prime minister.

The UN chief's statement did not mention by name either Libya's interim Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah or the new prime minister appointed on Thursday, Fathi Bashagha.

Guterres also did not repeat what his spokesman had said a day earlier, namely that the UN has continued to support Dbeibah as interim prime minister.

Libya's parliament, based in the country's east hundreds of kilometers from the capital, voted to replace Dbeibah with former interior minister Bashagha, raising the prospect of a power struggle in the capital after a year and a half of relative calm.

Dbeibah, a construction tycoon appointed a year ago as part of United Nations-led peace efforts, has vowed only to hand power to a government that emerges from a democratic vote.

His unity government took office in early 2021.

But when December 24 elections were cancelled amid deep divisions over their legal basis and several controversial candidates, his rivals charged that his mandate had ended.

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Syrian Interior Ministry Arrests ISIS Cell Responsible for Church Attack

People gather at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus following the suicide bombing on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (EPA) 
People gather at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus following the suicide bombing on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (EPA) 
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Syrian Interior Ministry Arrests ISIS Cell Responsible for Church Attack

People gather at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus following the suicide bombing on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (EPA) 
People gather at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus following the suicide bombing on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (EPA) 

Hours after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed that those involved in a “heinous” suicide attack on a Damascus church a day earlier would face justice, Syria’s Interior Ministry said authorities had arrested several suspects in connection with the attack.

The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the Mar Elias church in the Dweila district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and injured 63 others, according to the Health Ministry.

“In coordination with the General Intelligence Service, the Ministry carried out security operations against ISIS-linked terrorist cells in the Damascus countryside, arresting a cell leader and five members, and killing two others affiliated with the terrorist attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus,” the Syrian Interior Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

“During the raid, quantities of weapons and ammunition were seized, in addition to explosive vests and mines. A motorcycle bomb that had been prepared for detonation was also found,” it said.

On Monday, the Syrian President expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the church bombing.

He said “this heinous crime that targeted innocent people in their worship places reminds us of the importance of solidarity and unity –government and people- in confronting threats to our security and the stability of our country.”

Sharaa added, “Today, we all stand united, rejecting injustice and crime in all its forms. We pledge to the victims that we will work day and night, mobilizing all our specialized security services, to apprehend all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and bring them to justice to face their just punishment.”

The attack is the first such bombing in Damascus since the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime. It raised fear among the people.

Commenting on the attack, a man in his 70s described the attack as “a huge and horrible strike,” stressing the need for “the authorities to tighten security measures on churches, all places of worship, and busy places.”

On Monday, Asharq Al-Awsat spotted heavy deployment of local security agents in the capital’s neighborhoods and major roads, amid heightened security measures.

Adbdulrahman Alhaj, a researcher in Islamic studies, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Interior Ministry statement that linked the attack to an ISIS suicide attack is a suggestion that the ministry’s spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba had mentioned in his Sunday press briefing.

Alhaj said he supports the ministry’s conclusions as ISIS had recently issued several threats signaling plans to confront the new regime in Damascus particularly, al-Sharaa.