Syria’s Assad makes first appearance since July bomb attack

PanARMENIAN.Net - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made his first appearance in public since a July bomb attack, attending prayers at a Damascus mosque to mark the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid, state TV showed, according to Reuters.

The first day of Eid on Sunday, August 19, also gave Assad's opponents a chance to rally and activists reported protests around Syria, including in the capital, on a holiday that marked the end of the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Fighting raged on around Syria, killing more than 100 people, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Assad was pictured on Sunday sitting cross-legged at a mosque in the Damascus residential district of Muhajirin listening to a sermon in which Syria was described as a victim of "terrorism" and a conspiracy hatched by the United States, Israel, the West and Arabs - a reference to Gulf states which back the revolt.

Sheikh Mohammad Kheir Ghantous said the plot would not "defeat our Islam, our ideology and our determination".

Dressed in a suit and tie, Assad smiled as he greeted officials including senior members of his Baath Party.

In attendance were Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem and Prime Minister Wael al-Halki. He is the replacement for Riyad Hijab, a Sunni who has joined the opposition to Assad since his defection was announced on August 6.