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Bomb 'explodes outside Damascus mosque' Bomb 'explodes outside Damascus mosque'
(35 minutes later)
A motorcycle bomb has exploded in the north of the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing at least five members of the security forces, state media report.A motorcycle bomb has exploded in the north of the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing at least five members of the security forces, state media report.
The bomber reportedly targeted people as they left a mosque in the district of Rukn al-Din after Friday prayers. Officials said the bomber targeted people as they left a mosque in the Rukn al-Din area after Friday prayers.
It came as opposition activists said as many as 55 people had been killed in fighting across the country on Friday.It came as opposition activists said as many as 55 people had been killed in fighting across the country on Friday.
The head of the international Red Cross meanwhile said his talks with President Bashar al-Assad had been "positive".The head of the international Red Cross meanwhile said his talks with President Bashar al-Assad had been "positive".
Peter Maurer said they had focused on the need to reduce barriers to delivering aid and ensure aid workers could gain access to detainees.Peter Maurer said they had focused on the need to reduce barriers to delivering aid and ensure aid workers could gain access to detainees.
The president "expressed his readiness to address this issue", he added. "What we have today is commitments, what we have is a mechanism to implement those commitments," he added. "But we will have, of course, to witness whether commitments and mechanisms are producing results."
Mr Maurer also revealed that he had visited rural areas around Damascus and been shocked by "horrific accounts of armed attacks". UN worker killed
It is unclear what the target was of Friday's bombing in Rukn al-Din, a residential area not far from the centre of Damascus.
State media said the "terrorist attack" happened as worshippers walked out of the al-Rukniya mosque. But the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the blast had been aimed at a security patrol.
In addition to the five dead, six members of the security forces were wounded, several of them seriously, the UK-based activist group said.
The Associated Press said the bomb went off across the street from the mosque and damaged a clinic as well as six cars.
There have been a series of bombings in the capital since the uprising against President Assad began in March 2011. Officials have blamed "terrorists". Opposition activists, however, maintain that the security forces planted the bombs to discredit the peaceful protesters.
Elsewhere in Damascus on Friday, activists reported heavy shelling by government forces in the southern districts of Daf al-Shouk, Tadamon, and the densely-populated Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp.
The Local Co-ordination Committees, an activist network, said at least 16 people had been killed in the violence, including five in Yarmouk. On Thursday, a staff member of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) and his son were killed in their home when it was hit by a shell.
"UNRWA deplores the tragic loss of life and expresses the view that these outcomes could have been avoided," a statement said.
Lack of medical care
In Geneva, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revealed that he had visited rural areas around Damascus earlier this week and been shocked by "horrific accounts of armed attacks".
These left him in no doubt that Syria was engulfed in civil war since "all features of armed conflict are unfolding in front of us", he said.These left him in no doubt that Syria was engulfed in civil war since "all features of armed conflict are unfolding in front of us", he said.
"The needs are growing while the violence is expanding. Many men, women and children who could be saved are dying on a daily basis because they lack access to medical care."
The UN refugee agency said at least 246,267 Syrians had now fled to neighbouring countries. Of those, 81,000 are registered with the UN in Jordan, more than 78,000 in Turkey, almost 65,000 in Lebanon and nearly 22,000 in Iraq.
There are also thought to be more than 1.2 million internally displaced people in Syria, and 2.5 million in need of humanitarian assistance.
Meanwhile, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad accused Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi of "signing the death warrant" for his proposed meeting of a quartet of regional powers to discuss solutions to the crisis in Syria.
On Wednesday, Mr Mursi warned President Assad that he had to "take lessons from recent history" and step down before it was too late.