Off the wire
• Vicente Calderon to host Spanish Cup final  • Ghana to host marathon to promote SDGs  • Ghana Olympic Committee prepares national teams for Rio 2016  • ECB foreign exchange rates of Euro to other currencies  • Lithuanian teachers stage strike demanding wage increase  • British FTSE 100 increases 1.47 pct on Monday  • 1st LD: UN Security Council concerned about use of chemical weapons in Syria  • Urgent: U.S., Russia agree to Syrian ceasefire to begin Saturday  • 1st LD: UN chief hails U.S.-Russian accord on Syria  • Smartphones to account for half of all connections by end of 2016: GSMA  
You are here: 　 Home

1st LD Writethru: UN chief slams deadly terrorist attacks in Syria

Xinhua, February 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday condemned the multiple bombings on Sunday in Damascus and Homs, Syria, which killed at least 155 people, saying "those responsible for these atrocious and deliberate attacks on civilians must be held accountable."

The secretary-general extended his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and wished a speedy recovery to the injured, said a statement issued here by Ban's spokesman.

Five deadly bombings killed mainly civilians in central and southern Syria Sunday, marking one of the highest death tolls in a single day during the last five years of conflict.

Syrians woke Sunday to the news of twin bombings that rocked the al-Zahra' neighborhood, a pro-government district in the central city of Homs, which killed around 60 people.

The bombings in al-Zahra' and Sayyida Zaynab were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group which seems to have returned to the bombings tactic to cover for its losses from the Syrian army and the Kurdish fighters in the northern province of Aleppo and al-Hasakah province in northeastern Syria.

In previous statements, the IS vowed to continue bombing areas in the capital Damascus. Enditem