26/10/12
The Syrian Army and rebel fighters have both
apparently broken a four-day ceasfire agreed to
mark the Muslim holiday of Eid
A four-day ceasefire appears to have been breached
At least five people have been killed and 32 wounded in a car bombing in southern Damascus, according to Syrian state television.
The blast in the capital comes on the first day of a ceasefire brokered by UN and Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.
The regime and the main rebel force, the Free Syrian Army, had both agreed to temporarily lay down their arms.
“The explosion of a booby-trapped car outside the Omar bin Khattab mosque in the Daf Shawk district killed and wounded dozens of people,” the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The attack comes hours after three people were reported to have been killed by tank and sniper fire in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, which was apparently targeted in a violation of the temporary truce agreed to mark the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al Adha.
The Syrian army said it had been responding to attacks by armed rebels that were in violation of the ceasefire.
“Armed terrorist groups attacked military positions, thereby clearly violating the halt to military operations agreed by the army command.
“Our valiant armed forces are responding to these violations and pursuing these groups,” the military said in a statement, adding that rebel attacks had taken place against its positions in Deir Ezzor, Daraa, Idlib and in the Damascus region.
The Syrian army had said it would cease military operations from Friday to Monday for the Eid al Adha holiday, but warned it would react if “armed terrorist groups” carry out attacks or reinforce their positions, or if fighters cross into the country.
President Assad pictured at a prayer service on Friday
Rebels in a northern town close to the Turkish border also reported one of their fighters was shot dead by a sniper, and a Reuters journalist in the town heard what sounded like four rounds of tank fire.
In a statement read on state television after the truce deal, the Syrian army said it would still respond to gunfire or roadside bombs and keep rebels from bolstering their positions or getting supplies.
A Free Syrian Army commander also said rebels would retaliate if they were attacked.
On Friday morning, Syrian state television showed President Bashar al Assad attending morning prayers for the start of Eid at a mosque in Damascus.
He was pictured smiling and looking relaxed as he spoke to other worshippers, in his first television appearance for more than a month.
During prayers, Imam Walid Abdel Haq called on Syrians to “stop quarrelling because you are all brothers”.
“Do you not see what has been happening for two years in the country, the destruction and death? Stop this,” he said.
Protests were reported to have taken place in Raqa in the north east, where security forces fired tear gas, and in the southern Deraa province, where three people were injured as police fired live rounds to disperse demonstrators.
Activists said protests also took place in Damascus and Aleppo.
In the Idlib village of Al Habit protesters chanted against Mr Assad, saying: “Traitor, give up, you have destroyed Syria.”
