Nine months of unrest in Syria have stripped Bab Tuma, the oldest Christian quarter of Damascus, of any sign of Christmas joy. No decorations or lights adorn the streets and season’s greetings are exchanged with a heavy heart.

"Christians have decided to cancel celebrations and only observe Christmas mass which will be dedicated to peace in Syria," Greek Catholic Archbishop Elias al-Dabii told Agence France Presse.

Hizbullah stressed on Friday that the bombings that took place in Syria will not weaken the resolve of the forces of resistance in the region.

It said in a statement: “The United States and its regional proxies are behind the Damascus bombings.”

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri noted on Friday that some members of the Lebanese government are seeking to drag Lebanon onto a path of terrorism through covering up the Syrian regime’s crimes.

He made his statements in light of the twin bomb attacks that took place in Damascus earlier on Friday and the Syrian Foreign Ministry’s statements that Lebanon had warned earlier this week that members of al-Qaida had infiltrated the country.

President Michel Suleiman condemned the "terrorist" bombings in Damascus on Friday, saying they were aimed at targeting the Arab roadmap intended to resolve the Syrian crisis.

In a telephone conversation with Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Lebanese head of state said the bombings which “coincided with the arrival to Syria of an observer mission's advance team aim at targeting the Arab plan that Syria and the Arab League had agreed to.”

Suicide bombers hit two security service bases in Damascus on Friday, killing at least 40 people, in attacks the regime blamed on al-Qaida but which the opposition said were the work of the regime itself.

The bombings, which officials blamed on al-Qaida, were the first attacks against Syria's powerful security services in the heart of the capital since the uprising began and overshadowed new protests against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

German's foreign ministry said Thursday it had summoned Syria's ambassador to Berlin to demand an immediate halt to the "brutal" repression of anti-regime demonstrators by government forces.

"The brutal acts by the security forces against the Syrian population are absolutely unacceptable and a flagrant violation of Syria's agreement with the Arab League," said Boris Ruge, in charge of Middle East affairs at the foreign ministry.

More than 2,000 members of Syria's security forces have been killed in nine months since anti-regime protests broke out, state news agency SANA said on Thursday.

"In response to a fallacious U.N. report on the situation in Syria, we have informed the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that the number of martyrs has surpassed 2,000 members of the security forces and the army," according to a letter SANA says was sent.

An Arab League advance team arrived in Syria on Thursday to launch a hard-won observer mission to oversee a plan to end nine months of bloodshed after the opposition accused regime forces of "massacring" hundreds in two days.

Meanwhile, there was no let-up in the killing, with human rights activists reporting at least 21 more people killed and clashes between defectors and regular troops in flashpoints Homs and Idlib.

A veteran Sudanese military intelligence officer was heading to Cairo on Thursday for preparatory meetings to lead an Arab League observer mission aiming to end nine months of violence in Syria.

General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi was named on Tuesday to head the team, a day after Syrian President Bashar Assad's embattled regime agreed after weeks of stalling to accept the observers.

At least 22 people were killed on Wednesday in clashes in the southern Syrian province of Daraa, where the protests against President Bashar al-Assad's regime erupted in March, a rights group said, as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon expressed concern about the mounting death toll.

"Twenty-two people -- six deserters, a civilian and 15 members of the armed forces and security forces -- were killed and several dozen civilians were wounded in their homes," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.