BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Fighting in Syria killed several people today as a ceasefire brokered by international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to mark a holy Muslim day frayed almost before it had begun.
The Syrian military had said it would hold fire for four days following Brahimi’s ceasefire appeal, which had won widespread support, including from Russia, China and Iran, President Bashar al-Assad’s main foreign allies.
The U.N.-Arab League envoy had hoped to build on the truce to calm a 19-month-old conflict that has killed an estimated 32,000 people and worsened instability in the Middle East.
Violence appeared to wane in some areas, but violations by both sides swiftly marred Syrians’ hopes of celebrating Eid al-Adha, the climax of the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, in peace.
“We are not celebrating Eid here,” said a woman in a besieged Syrian town near the Turkish border, speaking above the noise of incessant gunfire and shelling. “No one is in the mood to celebrate. Everyone is just glad they are alive.”
Her husband, a portly, bearded man in his 50s, said they and their five children had just returned to the town after nine days camped out on a farm with other families to escape clashes.
“We have no gifts for our children. We can’t even make phone calls to our families,” he said, a young daughter on his lap.
The imam of Mecca’s Grand Mosque called on Arabs and Muslims to take “practical and urgent” steps to stop bloodshed in Syria.
The Syrian conflict has aggravated divisions in the Islamic world, with Shi’ite Iran supporting Assad and U.S.-allied Sunni nations such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar backing his foes.
