Syria's Assad appears at Eid prayers as truce starts
DAMASCUS - Agence France-Presse
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a rare television appearance today,
attending morning prayers as a ceasefire took effect for the four-day Muslim
holiday of Eid al-Adha.
State television showed Assad, smiling and
seeming relaxed, at an unidentified mosque in Damascus as the ceasefire, which
both his regime and the main rebel group have conditionally accepted, took
effect.
In a sermon at the 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.
"Syrians must return to God to defeat this sectarian
discord that they are trying to create in Syria. We must ourselves create a new
Middle East and not the one trying to be imposed... by the enemies of Islam and
of Syria." After the prayer, Assad was shown spending time with other
worshippers, greeting and chatting with some of them.
As he did, a
voiceover on the station hailed Assad's leadership.
"Here is the
president greeting the people with his smile that expresses kindness," it said.
"How beautiful is this meeting with the people's leader, the leader who is
making every effort so that Syria is a country that shines." Assad is rarely
shown in public, with his last televised appearance on October 21 when he met
with UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a rare television appearance today,
attending morning prayers as a ceasefire took effect for the four-day Muslim
holiday of Eid al-Adha.
