Armed Group Apologizes after Raiding Office of Ayatollah Sistani in Damascus

IQNA – An armed group that has raided an office of Iraqi top Shia cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Damascus has reportedly apologized for the attack.

The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights on Wednesday confirmed reports that the office, located in the Sayyidah Zaynab District south of Damascus had been attacked a day earlier. 

It said an extremist armed group led by a man named Abu Omar al-Libi attacked the office and looted its contents.

The office was vandalized and ransacked, with doors and internal columns damaged. Sums of money and a computer were stolen, and a picture of Ayatollah Sistani was defaced, it said.

Sources say that this office operates solely in the humanitarian and social fields, particularly caring for orphans and assisting displaced Shias, and has no connection to military or political activities.

They noted that that mediation and contacts subsequently led to the return of stolen funds and equipment, with the armed group issuing a formal apology.

Activists in the region have described the attack as a violation of the rights of the entire Syrian Shia community, and called for ensuring that such incidents would not be repeated and for respecting the role of religious and social institutions in the country.

Iraqi political and government figures widely condemned the attack on the office of Ayatollah Sistani.

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