Beirut: Syrian President Bashar Al Assad made a rare public appearance at a mosque in Damascus on the occasion of Eid Al Adha, a picture posted on the presidency’s official Twitter feed on Saturday showed.
Al Assad is shown offering prayers seated on the floor of Al Numan Bin Bashir mosque in the front row with a group of men.
The president is not frequently seen in public in Syria, which has descended into civil war between fighters wishing to overthrow him and pro-government forces.
It appeared the picture was taken early on Saturday.
One of Al Assad’s last public appearances was in July at the presidential palace when he was sworn in for a new term and gave a defiant speech, vowing to recover all of Syria from insurgents.
The capital remains in government control, but there are frequent clashes between government forces and insurgents on the outskirts.
