State Television - Assad Makes Rare Appearance In Damascus Mosque Reuters

By Dominic Evans

BEIRUT Sun Aug 19, 2012 5:11am EDT

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad completed Eid desires within a Damascus mosque on Sunday, assert television showed, within his / her initial appearance inside arrest since a new July bombing inside Syrian cash this wiped out four best safety measures officials.

Assad, that will be battling your 17-month-old uprising, had been followed by way of his prime minister however , not his or her vice president, Farouk al-Shara, in whose reported defection had been denied by the federal that previous day.

In this state TV footage, Assad was perched cross-legged after a sermon whereby Syria ended up being defined since the victim on the conspiracy theory hatched by means of this United States, Israel, the actual West and Arab claims however which in turn wouldn't normally "defeat our own Islam, your ideology as well as some of our determination inside Syria".

The July 18 bombing for the state reliability head office around Damascus had been a spectacular blow that will Assad, which lost a brother-in-law while in the attack, and arguing consequently increased with rebels producing inroads in to Damascus plus the commercial centre Aleppo.

Syrian authorities on Saturday sacked reviews that will Shara had defected when Assad's allows pursued a good offensive versus rebels, bombarding portions of Aleppo inside north and assaulted a strong insurgent-held city inside the oil-producing east.

Shara "never idea for just a moment concerning departing the country", said some sort of report from their business office broadcast on state television in answer to be able to reports which the veteran Baath Party loyalist have attempted to bolt to Jordan.

Assad, battling a distribution rebellion brought about through Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, may be left behind with a number with elderly officials, like primary minister Riyadh Hijab two many days ago.

Shara, whose aunty - an intelligence officer - announced his / her personal defection on Thursday, is often a Sunni Muslim out of Deraa province where the revolt commenced against Assad, a member in the minority Alawite sect which is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.

The 73-year-old ex-foreign minister kept a minimal profile since the revolt mushroomed although been released within court previous calendar month in the point out memorial service with regard to three from the slain officials from Assad's inner circle.

The report explained he / she possessed previously worked since start belonging to the uprising to choose a peaceful, political answer plus welcomed your session of Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi for a different worldwide mediator to get Syria.

Brahimi, who hesitated pertaining to days and nights in advance of recognizing a job this France's U.N. envoy Gerard Araud called an "impossible mission", will swap former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, that is giving when they get home of the month.

Annan's six-point will prevent your violence and also improvement towards political negotiations seemed to be influenced by an April ceasefire settlement that for no reason needed hold. The clash features deepened consequently along with both sides stepping up attacks.

AIR POWER

Assad's forces have resorted more and more to air electricity to keep backside lightly television insurgents within Damascus and Aleppo, Syria's largest metropolis plus internet business centre. More as compared with 18,000 people have got past away from the bloodshed and also concerning 170,000 include fled that country, in line with that United Nations.

The Syrian Observatory regarding Human Rights explained the actual affiliate marketing online bombarded neighborhoods around Aleppo. Rebels hold numerous areas from the place's biggest city and now have tried in order to push backside an army counter-offensive.

State television stated military "cleared terrorists and mercenaries" - terms employed by authorities in order to express Assad's equipped oppositions - in the western area regarding Saif al-Dawla, in which a number of the heaviest preventing features obtained place.

Internet photographs which often activists reported seemed to be filmed in Saif al-Dawla on Saturday showed a plane generating a low excrete more than properties plus dropping not one but two bombs.

The Observatory as well explained at least twenty armored cars or trucks went in to this far eastern village connected with Mayadeen throughout Deir al-Zor province, where by Syria's 200,000 barrels daily associated with oil are usually produced.

More as compared with 130 men and women had been killed in Syria on Saturday, this said, as well as 15 within Deir al-Zor.

In this village connected with Tel, north regarding Damascus, neighborhood activists claimed the particular bodies connected with 40 people killed by simply bombardment were being accumulated jointly to get a combined burial. A snapshot showed what seemed to be several corpses covered within colorful blankets with a street.

OBSERVERS SET TO LEAVE

Brahimi could have a brand new title, Joint Special Representative pertaining to Syria. Diplomats said this became to help mileage the pup coming from Annan, which complained this his quiet changeover prepare had been crippled by partitions concerning Western powers - which need Assad out and about - along with Russia, his primary fically - inside U.N. Security Council.

Describing the situation in Syria because "absolutely terrible", Brahimi advised Reuters your dog urgently necessary to explain what exactly help support that United Nations may give him as well as claimed it absolutely was way too quickly to convey no matter whether Assad need to stage affordable - different to Annan who seem to mentioned it was clear that Syrian director "must give office".

The continue U.N. observers who deployed with Syria four weeks previously in order to monitor Annan's failed ceasefire will certainly abandon once night time about Sunday, when their particular mandate expires.

They will abandon your "liaison office" start around Damascus right after his or her departure, although it's sizing and position have not also been finalized, some sort of U.N. spokeswoman said.

(Additional confirming through Mirna Sleiman within Dubai, Ayat Basma within Beirut, Tamim Elyan and Ayman Samir around Cairo, Karolin Schaps inside London and also Matt Spetalnick within Air Force One; Editing by simply Mark Heinrich)