PRAYERS FOR PEACE MARK EID

singapore — Muslims in Middle and East Asia celebrated the Eid Al Fitr on Sunday with prayers for peace as they marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

In Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, residents said they hoped the spirit of Eid would overcome fears about rising militancy in the country with the largest number of Muslims.

A police officer was killed on Sunday in an attack by suspected militants in the city of Medan.

“I think we need to go back to the basis of Islam which is to give peace to all mankind,” Samsul Arifin told Reuters Television.

In the Philippines, fighting between government forces and rebels in the southern town of Marawi eased on Sunday as the military sought to enforce a temporary truce to mark the Eid holiday.

Small skirmishes took place early in the day in parts of Marawi, where fighters loyal to Daesh were clinging on for a fifth week.

Muslims attended prayers at a Marawi mosque in an emotional gathering. The fighting has displaced some 246,000 people, and killed more than 350 people, most of them rebels, and about 69 members of the security forces.

“This is the most painful, the most sorrowful occasion, Eid Al Fitr, that we have experienced for the last hundreds of years,” said Zia Alonto Adiong, a spokesman for the provincial crisis committee. —

I think we need to go back to the basis of Islam which is to give peace to all mankind. Samsul Arifin, a cop in Jakarta

AFP IN CONGREGATION: Palestinians offer Eid Al Fitr prayer near Al Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem on Sunday. —

Reuters TOO HIGH TO CATCH ... Egyptians wait to catch balloons, distributed after Eid Al Fitr prayers outside El Seddik Mosque in Cairo, Egypt on Sunday. —

AFP UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYE ... Faithful pray outside the Mohammad Al Amin mosque in downtown Beirut. —

AFP IT’S SELFIE TIME ... Libyans take photos as they gather at the Martyrs’ Square in the capital Tripoli to offer Eid prayers. —

AP COLOURS OF EID ... Filipino Muslims gesture after Eid Al Fitr prayers at Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines. —

AFP IN SAFE HANDS ... A Palestinian man dressed in a bear outfit plays entertain a child near Al Aqsa Mosque compound. —

AFP WARM GEREETINGS... Indonesians greet their friends and neighbours in a neighbourhood in Tangerang, Jakarta. —