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 performed Eid hopes in a very Damascus mosque about Sunday, express television showed, around his first look within arrest since a July bombing around that Syrian money that mortally wounded a number of top protection officials.

Assad, who's scrapping a 17-month-old uprising, was coupled with his / her prime minister although not really his vice president, Farouk al-Shara, whose noted defection had been refused through the federal government the particular preceding day.

In the state TV footage, Assad had been perched cross-legged during some sort of sermon by which Syria was called the particular target of a conspiracy hatched by the United States, Israel, your West plus Arab declares but that could not really "defeat each of our Islam, your ideology and our conviction in Syria".

The July 18 bombing for the condition security home office inside Damascus was some sort of stunning blow to Assad, who dropped a new brother-in-law inside attack, and also fighting hereafter intensified together with rebels producing inroads straight into Damascus and the financial centre Aleppo.

Syrian professionals on Saturday ignored information that Shara have defected when Assad's forces pursued a strong a problem alongside rebels, bombarding aspects of Aleppo inside the north and approaching an insurgent-held village within the oil-producing east.

Shara "never idea for any moment concerning leaving that country", said a statement from his company broadcast with assert television responding to be able to studies that the veteran Baath Party loyalist had attempted to help bolt to Jordan.

Assad, struggling a dispersing rebellion encouraged by way of Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, have been abandoned by the availablility of senior citizen officials, as well as perfect minister Riyadh Hijab a pair of days ago.

Shara, whose uncle - an cleverness officer - announced their own defection with Thursday, may be a Sunni Muslim from Deraa province in which this revolt started out versus Assad, a person in the minority Alawite sect this is usually an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.

The 73-year-old ex-foreign minister stored the lowest profile since the revolt mushroomed nonetheless surfaced throughout open public last four week period with a condition memorial service to get about three with the slain administrators from Assad's internal circle.

The statement said your dog had did wonders seeing that the beginning associated with the particular uprising that will choose a peaceful, political alternative plus welcomed the scheduled appointment involving Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi for a fresh intercontinental mediator regarding Syria.

Brahimi, whom hesitated to get a short time in advance of taking portion of of which France's U.N. envoy Gerard Araud identified as a good "impossible mission", will certainly replace past U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is leaving when they get home with the month.

Annan's six-point intend to quit this violence as well as advance towards political talks ended up being influenced by an April ceasefire contract which in no way took hold. The conflict provides deepened after that together with each facets walking way up attacks.

AIR POWER

Assad's energies have resorted increasingly to air energy to hold back again casually see thousands insurgents with Damascus as well as Aleppo, Syria's major metropolis along with enterprise centre. More in comparison with 18,000 individuals have perished inside the bloodshed along with regarding 170,000 have fled the country, in line with the actual United Nations.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated this affiliate marketer inundated neighborhoods within Aleppo. Rebels hold several districts while in the country's premier location and still have attempted in order to push back a good internet marketer counter-offensive.

State television stated troops "cleared terrorists as well as mercenaries" - words employed by authorities in order to illustrate Assad's television opponents - on the western centre involving Saif al-Dawla, when a number this heaviest combating has used place.

Internet footage which activists said seemed to be filmed in Saif al-Dawla about Saturday showed a airplane creating an occasional pass more than buildings in addition to going down a pair of bombs.

The Observatory furthermore claimed as a minimum 20 armored cars shifted on the northern smaller population center of Mayadeen in Deir al-Zor province, exactly where Syria's 200,000 barrels per day time of oil usually are produced.

More compared to 130 persons ended up put to sleep in Syria on Saturday, them said, as well as fifteen with Deir al-Zor.

In the town associated with Tel, north connected with Damascus, area activists reported this physiques connected with forty five people today put to sleep by simply bombardment were collected together to get a joint burial. A image exhibited just what been seen in being various corpses twisted with bright colored blankets on the street.

OBSERVERS SET TO LEAVE

Brahimi can have your innovative title, Joint Special Representative for Syria. Diplomats mentioned it was for you to distance him or her out of Annan, who seem to complained in which his or her tranquil move prepare seemed to be crippled through sections involving Western power - who wish Assad out - as well as Russia, their primary fically - inside the U.N. Security Council.

Describing the problem within Syria as "absolutely terrible", Brahimi advised Reuters he urgently had to elucidate what support this United Nations can grant him and also reported it had been too in the near future to convey no matter whether Assad should measure down - in contrast to Annan who said the item ended up being very clear your Syrian innovator "must leave office".

The continue U.N. observers exactly who working with Syria a number of many months past for you to keep track of Annan's failed ceasefire could give after night with Sunday, when their require expires.

They will leave a "liaison office" open throughout Damascus after their departure, although it's sizing and purpose include possibly not been recently finalized, a U.N. spokeswoman said.

(Additional canceling by way of Mirna Sleiman in Dubai, Ayat Basma throughout Beirut, Tamim Elyan and Ayman Samir within Cairo, Karolin Schaps with London plus Matt Spetalnick around Air Force One; Editing simply by Mark Heinrich)