The United Arab Emirates on Saturday condemned what it described as “riots, acts of vandalism, and assaults” outside its embassy and the residence of its head of mission in Damascus.

In a statement, the UAE’s foreign ministry called on Syria to uphold its obligations to secure the embassy and its staff, investigate the incident and hold the perpetrators to account.

A Reuters reporter saw dozens of protesters gathering outside the UAE’s embassy in Damascus at midday on Friday, including some chanting “the Zionist embassy”.

A Syrian security official told Reuters that the incident occurred after some participants split off from a larger pro-Palestinian demonstration being held at the nearby Umayyad Square and tried to storm the embassy.

“Internal security forces prevented them from doing so and dealt with the situation,” the official said, speaking anonymously because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Syria’s foreign ministry did not directly refer to the incident but said in a statement on Friday evening that it took a “firm and unwavering stance” against any attack on or attempt to approach embassies and diplomatic missions.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office (FO) condemned the vandalism, stating, “Such acts violate the sanctity and security of diplomatic missions, which are protected under international law, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and undermine the norms governing peaceful diplomatic engagement between states.”

It added that Pakistan reiterated its commitment to the principles of international law and diplomatic norms, emphasising the importance of “maintaining peace, stability and mutual respect among nations”.

Demonstrations have taken place across Syria since the Israeli parliament passed a law making death by hanging a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks.

The UAE normalised relations with Israel in the 2020 Abraham Accords, though diplomatic relations have been strained by Israel’s hard-right turn since then.