The French Foreign Ministry condemned a deadly bombing in Damascus and called on truce guarantors, especially Russia and Iran, to ensure a cease-fire in Syria is fully respected.
“There is more than ever urgency to ensure that cease-fire is respected in Syria,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“France calls on the truce guarantors, especially Russia and Iran, who will meet in Astana next week, to put pressure on parties to ensure that cease-fire is fully respected.”
Russian-backed peace talks are due to take place in Astana on March 14-15.
Ex-Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh Al-Sham Front issued a statement saying it was behind twin bombings.
“On Saturday... a twin attack was carried out by two heroes of Islam... in the center of the capital Damascus, killing and wounding dozens,” the statement said. Without elaborating, it called the bombings “a message to Iran and its militias.”
Iran and the Tehran-backed Hezbollah movement of Lebanon are close allies of the Syrian government.
Death toll jumps to 74 dead
The death toll from the bomb attack on Saturday in the center of Damascus has climbed to 74, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Sunday.
Among the victims were 43 Iraqi who had come to the Syrian capital to visit their religious places in Damascus’ famed Old City, according to the Observatory.
The Britain-based monitor said that 11 bystanders and eight children were among those killed, as well as 20 members of pro-government security forces.
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that a roadside bomb detonated as a bus carrying pilgrims made its way through the Bab Al-Saghir area of the Old City before a suicide bomber blew himself up.
Iraqi historic sites are a frequent target of Al-Qaeda and Daesh, not only in Syria but also in neighboring Iraq.
The Sayyida Zeinab mausoleum to the south of Damascus, Syria’s most visited site, has been hit by several deadly bombings during the war. In January, twin suicide bombings in the high-security Kafr Sousa district of the capital had killed 10 people, eight of them soldiers.

Source: Arab News