Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has made his first public appearance since a deadly bombing in Damascus last month, attending prayers at the al-Hamad mosque in the capital to mark the Eid al-Fitr festival. State television showed Mr Assad seated on the floor and shaking hands with clerics, a departure from previous years when he was typically filmed arriving or leaving in his convoy.
The visit comes amid intensified conflict, with opposition groups reporting heavy shelling of rebel-held areas in Aleppo and Rastan, and clashes in Herak, Deraa province. Anti-government protests were held at cemeteries and mosques across the country, including in Damascus, Hama and Idlib, according to activists.
Mr Assad's public appearances have been limited since the 18 July bombing at the state security headquarters, which killed four senior officials, including his brother-in-law, Deputy Defence Minister Assef Shawkat. Recent weeks have also seen several high-profile defections, most notably that of Prime Minister Riad Hijab. However, officials denied rumours that Vice-President Farouq al-Shara, the most senior Sunni Muslim in the regime, had defected.
The international community has welcomed the appointment of veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi as the new UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, succeeding Kofi Annan. Annan resigned after his peace plan failed to achieve a ceasefire. Brahimi, described as having a formidable UN reputation and independence from major powers, has said it is too early to demand Mr Assad's resignation, in contrast to Annan's stance.
The mandate of the UN observer mission in Syria expired at midnight local time, having been deployed to monitor a ceasefire that never took hold. The conflict, now in its second year, has seen an estimated 20,000 deaths and tens of thousands of refugees, according to activists. The UN Security Council remains deadlocked, with Russia and China vetoing resolutions on the crisis three times.
