video transcript

Families gather at the graves of loved ones in the village in Syria's Idlib province to mark the first day of Eid. They have come to pay respect to those killed in the 17-month rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOTHER OF MAN WHO WAS KILLED, UMM JOMAA, SAYING: ''My son. died on March 23. He was on his way back from Damascus. He wanted to come back and visit us and he was coming through Areeha. They attacked the car and he was martyred. He has four children. He was my only son, I spent my whole life for him, they did not let him come back to me alive. I have lost my heart.'' More than 18,000 people have died in Syria since the uprising began last March. Villagers dug a fresh trench for graves, in the event that more people from their village add to those numbers.