BEIRUT | Sun Aug 19, (Reuters) –
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad performed prayers in a Damascus mosque
marking the start of the Muslim Eid holiday on Sunday, state television
showed, his first appearance in public since a July bombing that killed
four members of his security brass.
Syria’s
President Bashar al-Assad (3rd L) attends Eid Al Fitr prayers at
al-Hamad mosque in Damascus August 19, 2012, in this handout photograph
released by Syria’s national news agency SANA. REUTERS/Sana/Handout
Opposition activists reported
anti-government protests at cemeteries and mosques around Syria
including Damascus, Hama and Idlib at the outset of the three-day Eid
al-Fitr feast, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Assad, battling a 17-month-old
uprising against 42 years of rule by his family, was accompanied to the
Damascus mosque by his prime minister and foreign minister but not his
vice president, Farouq al-Shara, whose reported defection was denied the
previous day.
His administration shaken by the
July 18 bomb attack in Damascus and defections including that of his
last prime minister, Assad’s recent appearances had been restricted to
state television footage of him during official business. He was shown
swearing in the new prime minister a week ago.
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