DAMASCUS: Insurgents shelled a mosque in a government-held neighborhood of Aleppo, killing at least 15 people as they left Friday prayers, while government airstrikes struck rebel-held parts of Syria’s largest city — even as the army unilaterally declared a brief truce in other parts of the country.
The violence in Aleppo has killed more than 200 civilians over the past week and is likely to continue unchecked, as the Bashar Assad government’s cease-fire does not include the city.
At least 15 people were killed and 30 injured when rockets struck Malla Khan mosque in the government-held Bab Al-Faraj district shortly after Friday prayers, Syrian state TV reported.
“We want the army to finish them,” an Aleppo resident told state TV outside a hospital where some of the dead and wounded were taken.
The attack followed an early morning lull in government airstrikes on rebel-held parts of Aleppo, following days of deadly violence that killed scores.
Yet by late morning air raids resumed on the city, according to activists from the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees (LCC).
The resumption of air raids prompted religious leaders to suspend Friday prayers in liberated areas.
The Religious Council of Aleppo, a body that runs religious affairs in opposition-held parts of the province, said in a statement online that it was calling on mosque leaders to call-off Friday prayers for the first time.
“The heart of the believers is aching ... but preserving lives is an important religious duty,” it said.
The violence in Aleppo has killed more than 200 civilians over the past week and is likely to continue unchecked, as the Bashar Assad government’s cease-fire does not include the city.
At least 15 people were killed and 30 injured when rockets struck Malla Khan mosque in the government-held Bab Al-Faraj district shortly after Friday prayers, Syrian state TV reported.
“We want the army to finish them,” an Aleppo resident told state TV outside a hospital where some of the dead and wounded were taken.
The attack followed an early morning lull in government airstrikes on rebel-held parts of Aleppo, following days of deadly violence that killed scores.
Yet by late morning air raids resumed on the city, according to activists from the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees (LCC).
The resumption of air raids prompted religious leaders to suspend Friday prayers in liberated areas.
The Religious Council of Aleppo, a body that runs religious affairs in opposition-held parts of the province, said in a statement online that it was calling on mosque leaders to call-off Friday prayers for the first time.
“The heart of the believers is aching ... but preserving lives is an important religious duty,” it said.
