DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended a mosque in the country’s west on Friday for prayers marking the end of Ramazan, in a rare appearance outside Damascus, images on his social media showed.

“President Assad performs the Eidul Fitr prayer at the Sayyida Khadija mosque in the city of Tartus,” a caption read, referring to the feast marking the close of Ramazan.

In one picture, he was seen praying alongside the country’s top Muslim cleric and its Islamic endowments minister. Another image showed him surrounded by dozens of worshippers who appeared to be offering him Eid greetings.

Assad has rarely appeared in public outside Damascus since Syria’s conflict broke out more than six years ago.

He led Eid prayers in the central city of Hama last year, his first public appearance in Syria outside the capital since the same festival in 2016.

The coastal city of Tartus is the site of a naval base belonging to Assad’s key backer Russia, which has helped his forces retake swathes of opposition-held territory.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2018