39 Killed, 205 Wounded in Mortar Attack on Campaign Event in Syria
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - In the first attack to target a campaign event, a mortar shell slammed into a tent packed with supporters of President Bashar Assad, killing 39 people and wounding 205 others, Syrian state TV said Friday.
Assad is widely expected to win a third, seven-year mandate in the vote scheduled for June 3, but the West and opposition activists have criticized it as a farce since it is taking place despite a raging civil war.
The 49-year-old president himself has not made a public appearance in more than a month and was not at the gathering struck by the mortar shell late Thursday in the southern city of Daraa. But campaigning has begun in earnest, with supporters waving his pictures and Syrian flags during daily demonstrations in the capital, Damascus, the coastal city of Latakia and other government-held areas.
Many gatherings have been held in so-called “election tents” where nationalistic songs are played and supporters mingle.
State TV showed pictures of Assad supporters dancing in a campaign tent in Daraa. It then showed people lying dead and wounded on the ground, including several children.
Its toll was the first provided by the government for the attack, which opposition activists earlier said killed 21, AP reported.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the mortar attack and reiterated his opposition to the indiscriminate use of any weapons by any party against civilians.
Daraa’s Gov. Khaled al-Hannus described the attack as a “massacre” and “a crime by terrorists meant to prevent Syrians from taking part in the presidential elections.”
Speaking on Syrian TV, he vowed Syrians will be undeterred and insisted “every honourable citizen” in Daraa will vote for Assad.