Deadly Violence in Syria, Despite Cease-fire

Posted October 27th, 2012 at 8:20 am (UTC-5)
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A fragile cease-fire between Syrian forces and rebels showed further signs of fraying on Saturday following a car bombing in front of a church in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor.

The state-run SANA news agency blamed “armed terrorist groups” for the blast which it said caused extensive damage to the church. It called the attack “another violation” of the truce between the government and rebels that took effect on Friday in observance of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says five people were killed in the bombing. The Britain-based group also says scattered violence hit other regions of Syria on Saturday including Damascus and Aleppo.

The group said 150 people were killed in anti-government related unrest across Syria on Friday.

United Nations special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi arranged the cease-fire so Syrians on all sides could celebrate Eid al-Adha, the holiday marking the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

On Friday, Syrian television showed President Bashar al-Assad mingling with worshippers at prayers, while some ordinary Syrians said they were just trying to stay alive and were in no mood to celebrate.

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