Blasts erupt near Syrian Justice Ministry
Smokes rises after an explosion was heard near the Palace of Justice in central Damascus June 28, 2012.
A day after attackers bombed a pro-government TV station, massive
explosions shook the heart of Damascus near the Justice Ministry, the
state-run media said.
Two blasts occurred in a
parking garage Thursday outside the Palace of Justice, which houses the
ministry, Syrian state TV said. The Local Coordination Committees of
Syria confirmed the blast and said it occurred in the Marja neighborhood
of central Damascus.
At least three people were injured and 20 cars were damaged, state TV said.
TV video showed heavy smoke rising above buildings in Damascus. Firefighters battled a blaze at the site of the explosion.
On Wednesday, bombers
killed at least seven people in the headquarters of al-Ikhbaria, near
Damascus, killing three journalists and four security guards, the
state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported. The attackers also ransacked
and destroyed studios, the news outlet said.
There have been a flurry
of attacks in Syria's major cities of Damascus and Aleppo in recent
months, strikes that President Bashar al-Assad's regime has blamed on
terrorists. Opposition groups have said the government itself has been
behind such attacks to discredit the anti-regime forces.
In other provinces on
Thursday, at least 50 people were killed, the LCC said. They include 22
in the Damascus suburbs and 11 people in Deir Ezzor.
After more than 15
months, unrest in the Arab nation shows no sign of abating.
Internationally, tension rose last week after Syria shot down a Turkish
jet, an act deplored by NATO and many Western nations.
World diplomats have been working to end the intensifying violence and restore peace.
An emergency meeting has
been set for Saturday in Geneva, Switzerland, to deal with the crisis.
Kofi Annan, the United Nations' and Arab League's special envoy for
Syria, is gathering world diplomats with the goal of agreeing on a plan
to end the violence in Syria that has left thousands dead.
The meeting will bring
together top diplomats of the five permanent members of the U.N.
Security Council -- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the
United States -- and Turkey. Envoys from the United Nations, European
Union, and Arab League also were invited.
The meeting of the
group, dubbed The Action Group for Syria, comes at a critical time for
the country, which has been mired in an uprising since March 2011 that
has pitted al-Assad's forces against rebels calling for his ouster.
A peace plan hammered
out by Annan fell apart this month after both sides -- the Syrian
government and the rebels -- accused the other of failing to abide by
the terms to end the killing.
CNN can not
independently confirm the reports of casualties or violence because
access by international journalists to Syria has been severely
restricted.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is among those attending the Geneva meeting.
She agreed to the
meeting after speaking with Annan, who has "been working with key member
states on a political transition plan," State Department spokeswoman
Victoria Nuland told reporters Wednesday.
"The secretary spoke to
him yesterday and told him that we like and accept his transition plan,
and we think it can form the good basis not only for a meeting -- the
kind of meeting that he's been looking for to show international unity
-- but also to help the Syrian people move forward," Nuland said.
Russia has opposed the
idea that other countries dictate a political transition, insisting it
is a decision for the Syrians themselves. But Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov, briefing reporters in Moscow, said a transitional period
is "necessary for settling the Syrian crisis and establishing stable and
generally acceptable rules and norms, which will satisfy all the Syrian
groups."
"The people of Syria
must choose the content of the transitional period, its mechanism or
mechanisms, within the national dialogue of the government and all the
opposition groups," Lavrov said. "These terms were agreed to when the
Kofi Annan plan was given support."
Iran has not been
invited to the meeting. The United States was against Iran's presence
despite Annan's and Russia's positions that Tehran must be involved in
helping forge peace in Syria.
Lavrov says Iran is an "influential player in this situation" and it's a "great mistake" to exclude them.
"It has been said
publicly in Washington that the U.S. is categorically against Iran's
participation," Lavrov said. "This is a manifestation of a double
standard. When the Americans needed to settle some issues related to the
security of their troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, they initiated
contacts with Iran and agreed on something without any hesitations."
As for the use of
outside force, Lavrov said military intervention in Syria could result
in a catastrophe, and he doubts "any member of NATO has an appetite" for
repeating its military operation in Libya.
The Geneva meeting will come one day after Clinton meets with Lavrov in St. Petersburg.
While in St. Petersburg,
Clinton also plans to discuss Russian arms sales to al-Assad's regime,
the State Department official told reporters this week.
A shipment of
refurbished Russian helicopters headed for Syria had to turn around and
return to Russia after its British insurance company dropped coverage on
the ship carrying helicopters.
Russia and China,
permanent members of the Security Council, have major trade deals with
Syria. Both countries vetoed a U.N. resolution calling for an end to the
violence and a transition of power.
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