(Reuters) -Four people were killed and 16 injured in a stampede in the landmark Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on Friday, the Syrian state news agency (SANA) said. Five children suffered fractures, severe bruises and fainting, the civil defence said in a statement. Authorities were trying to determine the causes of the incident and will hold […]
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Stampede kills four people, injures 16 in Umayyad Mosque in Damascus
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(Reuters) -Four people were killed and 16 injured in a stampede in the landmark Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on Friday, the Syrian state news agency (SANA) said.
Five children suffered fractures, severe bruises and fainting, the civil defence said in a statement.
Authorities were trying to determine the causes of the incident and will hold those responsible accountable, Damascus Governor Maher Marwan told SANA.
“We are working to take urgent measures to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in public places in the future,” SANA quoted him as saying.
Syria’s new rulers seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.
(Reporting by Clauda TaniosEditing by Peter Graff, Kirsten Donovan)