It's a horror show that has played out across Syria for 19 months. Those grieving the dead are themselves targeted by gunfire or deadly blasts.
That cycle of death played out
again Tuesday when mourners gathered to grieve a man who dared speak out against
the Syrian government.
A car bomb silenced them.
"Children's bodies were maimed
and burnt. I saw pieces of human flesh and blood on the street," witness Ahmed
Al-Muadami said.
CNN cannot independently verify
the authenticity of the videos or reports of violence, as the Syrian government
has restricted access to international journalists.
The Damascus suburbs have seen
fierce fighting for months. Opposition activists say the government has
committed massacres, while the government says it is fighting armed
terrorists.
International envoy Lakhdar
Brahimi is trying to broker a cease-fire by Friday.
But the odds seem daunting.
On Tuesday alone, at least 100
people were killed in Damascus and its suburbs; 50 were from Muadamiyet al-Sham,
the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.
This day, mourners came to honor
one of 14 men who died after his arrest by Air Force Intelligence -- a much
feared security apparatus that dissidents accuse of hunting down anti-government
activists.
Word spread quickly Tuesday that
a Damascus hospital had a collection of unidentified bodies.
The families of the 14 men rushed
to the scene -- only to discover the bodies of their loved ones bore signs of
torture.
The outrage boiled over in the
Damascus suburb of Muadamiyet al-Sham, where a funeral procession for one of the
men morphed into a protest against President Bashar al-Assad's government.
Then came the explosion near the
Al-Zaitoona mosque, which is a popular gathering site for anti-government
protests.
"It was a car bomb parked next
to the mosque where the people were gathered. The explosion killed at least 13
people and wounded over a hundred," Al-Muadami said.
"One child was extremely
disfigured ... we couldn't identify him."
Amateur videos reportedly from
the scene show a grisly aftermath.
One man carried the lifeless
body of a child, his face charred black and gray.
"Look at this, Assad!" the man
screamed. "Is this your gift to us for the Eid? Look at this, you murderer!"
The Muslim holiday of Eid
al-Adha begins Friday.
CNN cannot independently verify
the authenticity of the videos or reports of violence, as the Syrian government
has restricted access to international journalists.
The Damascus suburbs have seen
fierce fighting for months. Opposition activists say the government has
committed massacres, while the government says it is fighting armed
terrorists.
International envoy Lakhdar
Brahimi is trying to broker a cease-fire by Friday.
But the odds seem daunting.
On Tuesday alone, at least 100
people were killed in Damascus and its suburbs; 50 were from Muadamiyet al-Sham,
the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.
The activist network said
residents in the town called for blood donors after the explosion.
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