The suicide bombing of a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus during Sunday mass, killing at least 20 people, drew strong international condemnations. The attack was the first known suicide bombing in the Syrian capital since December, when a rebel coalition ousted Syria’s autocratic president, Bashar al-Assad.
EU
The EU on Monday condemned as "heinous" the deadly weekend suicide attack on a Damascus church, saying the bloc "stands in solidarity" with Syria in combatting ethnic and religious violence.
"This heinous and cowardly violence against Christians is an attack against all Syrians," said a statement from EU foreign policy spokesperson Anouar El Anouni on the attack, blamed by Syrian authorities on the Islamic State group.
"It is a grave reminder of the need to intensify efforts against the terrorist threat and to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh and other terrorist organisations," El Anouni said, using an alternative name for IS.
Turkey
Turkey will not allow extremists to drag Syria back into chaos and instability, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.
"We will never allow our neighbour and brother Syria... be dragged into a new environment of instability through proxy terrorist organisations," he said, vowing to support the new government's fight against such groups.
He did not explain what he meant by "proxy" groups but vowed that Turkey would "continue to support the Syrian government’s fight against terrorism".
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