Photo: Reuters
08/19/12
Two children were among at least 19 people reported killed in shelling by the Syrian army and clashes with rebels as violence continued on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday.
The children were killed on Sunday by continued shelling on the town of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, activists said.
Troops also bombarded the besieged city of Rastan, in the central province of Homs, and the eastern city of Deir Ezzor.
Children across the Muslim world were set to receive new clothes and gifts for Eid, but in Syria there was no respite from the bloodshed which the activists say has killed more than 23,000 people since March last year.
Fighting rages between regime forces and rebels for the control of Aleppo international airport
"This is how we celebrate Eid!" chanted a crowd of protesters who took to the streets of Kafr Zeita, in the central province of Hama, according to amateur video posted on YouTube by activists.
At the protest, children and adults held up Syrian independence flags and chanted slogans against President Bashar al-Assad.
Elsewhere, clashes raged in the Saif al-Dawla and Izaa districts of the northern city of Aleppo, a key battleground of the conflict since rebels seized large swathes from July 20.
Also in Aleppo, fierce fighting continued to rage between rebel fighters and government forces for control of the international airport, a strategic target for both sides.
At least 137 people were killed across Syria on Saturday, including 63 civilians, 31 rebel fighters and 43 soldiers, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Assad appearance
Amid the violence, Syria's state-run TV aired footage of Assad performing Eid prayers in a mosque in Damascus on Sunday.
It was his first appearance in public after a bombing in the Syrian capital last month that killed the country's defense minister and three other top security officials.
The last time Assad appeared in public was on July 4 when he gave a speech in parliament.
Assad's appearance comes amid much speculation on the whereabouts of Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa, who was said by some members of the Free Syrian Army to have defected to the opposition.
On Saturday, his office denied the reports and said al-Sharaa "did not think, at any moment, of leaving the country".
Al-Sharaa did not appear in the footage at the mosque with Assad.
UN mission
The latest development came as the last 100 of the 300 UN monitors prepared to leave the country on Sunday.
The UN observers' departure comes after the Security Council agreed to end the mission and support a small new liaison office that will support any future peace efforts.
Veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, will take over from Kofi Annan as the UN-Arab League Joint Special Representative in the Syria conflict.
UN monitors wind up mission in Syria
On Saturday, Brahimi said in an interview with Reuters news agency that too soon for him to follow his predecessor in saying that Assad must leave office.
His comments caused fury among Syrian dissidents and the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) described the comments as "unacceptable".
"The revolutionary Syrian people were shocked and dismayed by Mr Lakhdar Brahimi's statements," the SNC said in a statement.
"We call on the international envoy - who has not yet consulted with any Syrians on his appointment or his mission - to apologise to our people for taking this unacceptable position," it added.
Brahimi's comments only served to give Assad's government a "licence to kill tens of thousands more Syrians", the SNC said.
Source: Al Jazeera
Two children were among at least 19 people reported killed in shelling by the Syrian army and clashes with rebels as violence continued on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday.
The children were killed on Sunday by continued shelling on the town of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, activists said.
Troops also bombarded the besieged city of Rastan, in the central province of Homs, and the eastern city of Deir Ezzor.
Children across the Muslim world were set to receive new clothes and gifts for Eid, but in Syria there was no respite from the bloodshed which the activists say has killed more than 23,000 people since March last year.
Fighting rages between regime forces and rebels for the control of Aleppo international airport
"This is how we celebrate Eid!" chanted a crowd of protesters who took to the streets of Kafr Zeita, in the central province of Hama, according to amateur video posted on YouTube by activists.
At the protest, children and adults held up Syrian independence flags and chanted slogans against President Bashar al-Assad.
Elsewhere, clashes raged in the Saif al-Dawla and Izaa districts of the northern city of Aleppo, a key battleground of the conflict since rebels seized large swathes from July 20.
Also in Aleppo, fierce fighting continued to rage between rebel fighters and government forces for control of the international airport, a strategic target for both sides.
At least 137 people were killed across Syria on Saturday, including 63 civilians, 31 rebel fighters and 43 soldiers, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Assad appearance
Amid the violence, Syria's state-run TV aired footage of Assad performing Eid prayers in a mosque in Damascus on Sunday.
It was his first appearance in public after a bombing in the Syrian capital last month that killed the country's defense minister and three other top security officials.
The last time Assad appeared in public was on July 4 when he gave a speech in parliament.
Assad's appearance comes amid much speculation on the whereabouts of Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa, who was said by some members of the Free Syrian Army to have defected to the opposition.
On Saturday, his office denied the reports and said al-Sharaa "did not think, at any moment, of leaving the country".
Al-Sharaa did not appear in the footage at the mosque with Assad.
UN mission
The latest development came as the last 100 of the 300 UN monitors prepared to leave the country on Sunday.
The UN observers' departure comes after the Security Council agreed to end the mission and support a small new liaison office that will support any future peace efforts.
Veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, will take over from Kofi Annan as the UN-Arab League Joint Special Representative in the Syria conflict.
UN monitors wind up mission in Syria
On Saturday, Brahimi said in an interview with Reuters news agency that too soon for him to follow his predecessor in saying that Assad must leave office.
His comments caused fury among Syrian dissidents and the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) described the comments as "unacceptable".
"The revolutionary Syrian people were shocked and dismayed by Mr Lakhdar Brahimi's statements," the SNC said in a statement.
"We call on the international envoy - who has not yet consulted with any Syrians on his appointment or his mission - to apologise to our people for taking this unacceptable position," it added.
Brahimi's comments only served to give Assad's government a "licence to kill tens of thousands more Syrians", the SNC said.
Source: Al Jazeera
