- Syrian president appears strolling through streets of Damascus, shopping at local store using new currency

ISTANBUL

Syria on Monday categorically denied reports about an attack targeting President Ahmad al-Sharaa and senior officials.

In a statement, Interior Ministry spokesman Nour al-Din al-Baba said reports circulating on some platforms about a security incident targeting Sharaa and several senior figures “were completely untrue.” He said these reports were accompanied by “forged statements falsely attributed to official bodies.”

The spokesman urged citizens and media outlets to “exercise accuracy and responsibility and to rely solely on official, authorized sources for information.”

The Syrian president appeared strolling through the streets of Damascus and shopping at a local store using the country’s new currency in a scene that confirmed his safety and dispelled rumors of an attempted assassination.

Syria’s state-run Alikhbaria TV aired video footage showing him during the tour interacting with citizens and shop customers while appearing to go about his daily life normally amid routine security measures around the area.

The footage also showed him shopping at the store, located in the Mazzeh neighborhood of the Syrian capital, using the new Syrian banknotes.

Mohammad al-Hayek, who works at the shop where the Syrian president shopped, said he was happy to see him in good health.

Al-Hayek told Anadolu that the president visited his shop and bought biscuits, adding: “His health condition is good.”

Another shop employee, Razan al-Halabi, said the president entered the store, purchased some items, and listened to complaints about problems related to the circulation of the new banknotes.

“I took the money he paid, and I will keep it as a souvenir,” she added.

Unverified reports on social media linked to opposition accounts alleged a security incident at the presidential palace in Damascus, claiming an assassination attempt on Sharaa and injuries to senior officials, including Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.

The new Syrian administration has been working to tighten security conditions nationwide since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. A new transitional administration headed by Sharaa was formed in January, 2025.