Syrian president Assad makes rare public appearance, seen performing Eid prayers at Mosque.

Syrian president Assad makes rare public appearance, seen performing Eid prayers at Mosque.(AA).Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appeared alongside several members of his government on a state TV channel Sunday, making a rare public showing as he performed Eid al-Fitr prayers in a mosque in Damascus. Unlike previous Eids, the embattled president did not pray in al-Amawi Grand Mosque. Instead, he and regime members chose to pray in a less grand Rihab al-Hamad Mosque.
Observers said Assad possibly chose the Hamad mosque because it was a more secure venue as the president forces fight armed revolt in the capital and elsewhere in the country. Rihab al-Hamad Mosque is closer to the Presidential Palace than the historic grand mosque, which is also surrounded by old-structures that could conceal opposition attackers. Among the senior officials present for prayers were Syria’s Foreign Minister Waleed al-Muallim and Minister of Religious Endowments Abdul al-Sattar al-Sayid. The prayer ceremony aired on TV was only around 11 minutes, making it an unprecedentedly short one. It was Assad’s first appearance in public after a bombing in the Syrian capital last month killed the country’s defense minister and three other top security officials. Eid al-Fitr, a three-day religious occasion Muslims celebrate after the holy month of Ramadan, has not brought any halt of violence in Syria.
Activists reported on Sunday shelling of a mosque in al-Rustun city in Homs while worshippers were performing the early morning eid prayers. Assad’s appearance comes amid much speculation on the whereabouts of Vice President Farouq al-Sharie, 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.”Read the full story here.