MESOP News Roundup Syria : Wednesday, June 4 / AL HASAKA

 Rebels shell Damascus as polling concludes

A mortar shell struck the roof of Damascus University’s Law School Wednesday morning, according to both pro- and anti-Assad sources, as rebels continued to fire on the capital after repeated attacks during Tuesday’s presidential voting. A total of 130 shells struck Damascus on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, killing three and injuring more than 15. Pro-Assad celebrations were staged in and around polling centers in Damascus and other regime-held areas. “It was like a tribute, not a presidential election with three competitors,” a Hasaka-based activist told Syria Direct on Tuesday.

The official voting period concluded at midnight, with President Bashar al- Assad’s office announcing on Facebook that vote counting was underway and results would be announced by the Supreme Constitutional Court. 

Meanwhile, the opposition Syrian National Coalition issued a statement Wednesday declaring that the elections represented “the last nail in the coffin of a peaceful solution” and published video of protestors in the Damascus suburb of Daraya protesting Assad’s “blood elections.”