Four people were killed and 16 injured in a stampede at Damascus’s famous Umayyad Mosque on Friday, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
Five children suffered broken bones, severe bruises and lost consciousness, the Syrian Civil Defense said in a statement.
Authorities are trying to establish the cause of the incident and will hold those responsible accountable, Damascus Governor Maher Marwan told SANA.
An AFP photographer at the scene saw a large crowd of people gathered outside the mosque as free food was being distributed.
Video obtained by the Associated Press also showed a large crowd of people reaching for food packages being distributed.
Al-Watan newspaper reported that the stampede occurred during a free food distribution by a social media user.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani visited the mosque in the morning, Arab News reported.
“We are working to take urgent measures to ensure that such incidents do not happen in public places in the future,” Marwan was quoted as saying by SANA.
Syria’s new authorities seized control of Damascus on December 8, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee after more than 13 years of war.