Flames and smoke raise from burning cars after two bombs exploded, at Qazaz neighborhood in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday May 10, 2012.  Two large explosions ripped through the Syrian capital Thursday, heavily damaging a military intelligence building and leaving blood and human remains in the streets. (AP Photo/SANA)
Flames and smoke raise from burning cars after two bombs exploded, at Qazaz neighborhood in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday May 10, 2012. Two large explosions ripped through the Syrian capital Thursday,Show more

Damascus shakes after its deadliest bombing in Syrian uprising



BEIRUT // Twin suicide blasts killed 55 people and wounded more than 370 in Damascus yesterday, Syrian officials said, in the deadliest attack in the Syrian capital since the country's uprising began 14 months ago.

The car bombs went off seconds apart during the morning rush hour near a busy intersection. The Syrian Ministry of Interior blamed “suicidal terrorists” for the attack.

The target appeared to be a military intelligence compound, the facade of which was damaged when the more than 1,000 kilograms of explosives inside the two cars detonated shortly before 8am.

The blasts left two large craters outside the compound, which houses a notorious branch of the military intelligence. The Syrian state news agency, Sana, posted gruesome images of bloodied corpses and body parts strewn on the road.

Some of the dead were pictured still in the driver’s seat of their cars, while in some images heavy black smoke billowed from mangled vehicles.

“The house shook like it was an earthquake,” said Maha Hijazi, a housewife, as she stood outside her home across the street from the targeted compound in the Al Qazaz neighbourhood.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings. Syria’s foreign ministry said the attacks were a sign it was facing foreign-backed terrorism and urged the UN Security Council to combat countries or groups supporting such violence.

“Syria stresses the importance of the UNSC taking measures against countries, groups and news agencies that are practicing and encouraging terrorism,” the Sana quoted the ministry as saying in a letter to the UN body.

The government has repeatedly accused the Qatar-based Al Jazeera and Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news channels of inciting violence in Syria. Qatar and Saudi Arabia have called for the arming of the rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar Al Assad.

Some opposition members, however, have said the government has orchestrated such attacks in an attempt to discredit the uprising and back up its assertion that terrorist groups are responsible for the crisis in Syria.

Major General Robert Mood, the head of the United Nations observer team in Syria, visited the bomb site, saying that Syrian people did not deserve such "terrible violence".

“It is not going to solve any problems,” he said. “It is only going to create more suffering for women and children.”

This latest day of violence has further undermined efforts to enforce a UN-brokered ceasefire that was supposed to come into effect on April 12. Since then, opposition groups say hundreds of people have been killed.

Yesterday, the UN-Arab League special envoy to Syria Kofi Annan condemned the attacks and appealed for calm.

“These abhorrent acts are unacceptable and the violence in Syria must stop,” he said in a statement. “The Syrian people have already suffered too much.”

The US embassy in Beirut also quickly condemned the blasts in statements posted on its Twitter account. The US embassy in Damascus was closed earlier this year as tensions between the two countries mounted over Washington’s support for the uprising.

“The indiscriminate targeting and killing of civilians is reprehensible and unacceptable in any context,” the US embassy in Beirut said. “We continue to call on the Syrian regime to fully and immediately implement the Annan plan.”

The European Union described the bombings as “pure terrorism”, but stressed Mr Annan’s plan was still the “best option to try to ensure peace in Syria”.

Members of the Syrian opposition yesterday distanced themselves from the bombings.

“The government is trying to make Kofi Annan’s plan fail,” said General Mustafa Al Sheikh, a leader of the rebel Free Syrian Army. “These bombs are not the work of opposition fighters.”

The UK-based monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, has said 849 people - 628 civilians and 221 soldiers, including 31 defectors - have been killed since the truce officially began. The toll did not include deaths from yesterday’s blasts.

This was not the first large-scale attack against security targets in central Damascus, which remains under the control of forces loyal to Mr Al Assad.

Another suicide attack targeted security forces in the capital in late April, killing at least nine people. An earlier attack in March killed at least 27 and in January an explosion left 26 dead.

At least 44 people died in another twin bombing outside an intelligence compound in Damascus in December last year.

The UN has estimated that at least 9,000 people have been killed in the 14 months since the revolt began. Syrian authorities have blamed the violence on foreign-backed terrorist groups, which they say have killed at least 3,000 members of the security forces.

zconstantine@thenational.ae

* With additional reports by the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Mia Man’s tips for fermentation

- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut

- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.

- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.

- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.

 

Race card:

6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m.

7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.

7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m.

8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m.

8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m.

9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.

10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m.