DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad led Eid al-Fitr prayers in the central city of Hama on Sunday, appearing in public outside the capital for the first time in a year.
Assad’s office published images of him praying inside the brightly-lit Al-Nuri mosque at dawn on Sunday before greeting worshippers outside.
He was flanked by Islamic Endowments Minister Mohammed Abdel-Sattar Sayyed and Syria’s top Muslim cleric Ahmad Badredine Hassoun.
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy month of Ramazan, during which Muslims fast from dawn until dusk.