Chinese Embassy in Damascus damaged in mortar shell attack
Print Edition
A MORTAR shell fell into the compound of the Chinese Embassy in Damascus yesterday, slightly injuring a Syrian employee.
It was the first time the Chinese Embassy had been hit since the Syrian conflict broke out two and a half years ago.
The embassy confirmed that the mortar shell which was believed to have been launched from a southern suburb of Damascus fell into its compound yesterday morning, damaging part of the office building’s walls and shattering some windows.
A Syrian worker, who had been cleaning an office, was injured in the attack. He was being treated at a nearby hospital.
Syria’s state news agency SANA reported yesterday that the capital had been hit by another two mortar shells during the day.
The Chinese Embassy is located within the highly secured Mezze neighborhood which also houses embassies and consulates of other countries.
The presidential complex also sits at the top of the Mezze Hill.
After the attack, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China was shocked by the incident and strongly condemns it.
Hong said that China urged strongly that relevant parties of Syria strictly abide by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and guarantee the safety of the diplomatic institutions and personnel of China as well as other countries.
He appealed to the relevant parties to cease fire immediately and open dialogue, put an end to the crisis and restore the country’s peace and stability.
On September 22, a shell struck the Russian Embassy in Damascus, injuring three people. Last Thursday, the Iraqi consulate in the same neighborhood was hit by a mortar shell, killing a woman and injuring three other people.
Hua Liming, a former Chinese ambassador to Iran, said that these attacks might be accidents but he did not rule out the possibility that they were fired by the opposition forces.
After the UN Security Council passed a resolution on Syria last Friday, the Syrian opposition, which had pinned hopes on the West to use force against the Syrian government, was disappointed and might vent their anger on other countries, Hua said.
The opposition wanted to create an atmosphere that Damascus was not safe any longer, he said, adding that they might have planned the attacks long ago.
Syria’s state TV reported yesterday that President Bashar al-Assad had inspected the Damascus suburb of Daraya which used to be a stronghold of the opposition but is now controlled by government troops.
Assad’s visit on Thursday was one of the few that he has paid outside the capital since the conflict erupted in March 2011.
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