News / Syria

Syrians hold mass funeral for victims of Aleppo bombing

Wednesday, 26 April 2017 5:27 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 26 April 2017 5:28 PM ]

Syrian mourners attend a funeral ceremony in the shrine of Sayyidah Zaynab on the outskirts of the capital Damascus on April 26, 2017, for the victims of a recent bombing that targeted buses carrying evacuees from the militant-besieged Shia-majority towns of Kefraya and al-Foua. (Photo by AFP)

Hundreds of Syrians have attended a funeral procession for those killed in a recent deadly bomb attack outside the Syrian city of Aleppo that targeted buses carrying evacuees from the militant-besieged Shia-majority towns of Kefraya and al-Foua.

The mourners performed prayers in the shrine of Sayyidah Zaynab, the granddaughter of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and laid the victims to rest in a cemetery in the town with the same name just outside the capital Damascus on Wednesday.

"Today, there will be funeral services for 52 of the dead, after they were identified. They will be buried in a cemetery near the shrine," said an organizer of the funeral.

At least 150 people, including 72 children, were killed on April 15, when a bomb attack hit buses waiting in the militant-held al-Rashideen district on the outskirts of Aleppo to cross into government-controlled territory.

Read more:

Nearly 40 killed as blast hits convoy near Aleppo

The evacuation was made possible under a deal struck in late March that envisaged the transfer of people holed up in Kefraya and al-Foua in Syria’s Idlib province in exchange for the evacuation of militants and their families from the government-besieged towns of al-Zabadani and Madaya in Rif Dimashq province.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Aleppo bombing, but such assaults bear the hallmarks of those carried out by Takfiri terrorists operating in conflict-ridden Syria.

Rupert Colville, a spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the attack “most likely amounts to a war crime.”

Syrian children hold posters during a funeral ceremony in the shrine of Sayyidah Zaynab on the outskirts of Damascus on April 26, 2017, for the victims of a recent bombing that targeted buses carrying evacuees from the militant-besieged Shia-majority towns of Kefraya and al-Foua. (Photo by AFP)

Syrian mourners carried posters bearing photographs of the fatal attack, with some of them reading, "Victory blooms from your blood.”

Mourner Abdelsalam Remman, who was carrying a poster of his six-year-old sister Tuqa, said, "There's no worse feeling than this, than burying your sister without being able to see her.”

Damascus Countryside Governor Ala’a Ibrahim, who was among those attending the event, said the Syrians will remain steadfast until victory over terrorism is achieved.

Quneitra Governor Ahmad Sheikh Abdelqader also decried the international silence on the terrorist attack.

The bodies of 51 other victims of the deadly bombing were buried in Aleppo city on Tuesday.

Syrian army forces and allied fighters have been fighting different foreign-backed terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the Arab country since 2011.

Over the past few months, the Takfiri elements have increased their acts of violence in Syria in revenge for the blows they have been suffering on the ground.

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