Damascus: A stampede at the landmark Umayyad Mosque in Syria's capital on Friday killed four people, a Damascus health official told state media. "Damascus Health Director Dr Mohammed Akram Maatouq announced that the final toll from the unfortunate stampede that occurred today in the Great Umayyad Mosque and its surroundings is four dead and 16

At least three women died and five children suffered severe fractures and bruises on Friday in a stampede at the Umayyad Mosque in the Syrian capital, Damascus while attempting to get free meals in a charitable activity.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati will meet Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Saturday, two Lebanese sources said, becoming the first head of government to visit Syria's capital since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani met Syria's new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus Friday, state media said, in the latest such visit from a European diplomat since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

The Italian minister spoke of cooperation between Syria and Italy in crucial sectors, but EU sanctions imposed over the last decade of conflict remain an obstacle to progress. View on euronews

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday that he had called for a moratorium on EU sanctions on Syria for six months or one year, but that a final decision could only come from the entire bloc.