Four people were killed and 16 injured in a stampede in the landmark Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, the Syrian state news agency (SANA) said.

Five children suffered fractures, severe bruises and fainting, the civil defence said in a statement on Friday.

Authorities were trying to determine the causes of the incident and will hold those responsible accountable, Damascus Governor Maher Marwan told SANA.

"We are working to take urgent measures to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in public places in the future," SANA quoted him as saying.

Syrian opposition forces took control of Damascus on December 8, forcing President Bashar al Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family's decades-long rule.