CHRISTCHURCH, March 20 -- The funeral prayers of two of the 50 victims of the Christchurch massacre were offered here.

Hundreds of mourners turned up for the funerals.

The burials were held in Memorial Park Cemetery in New Zealand's Linwood city as New Zealanders braced for days of emotional farewells following the mass slayings.

The burials were of late Khalid Mustafa and his son, 14-year-old Hamza, both of whom hailed from Syria and had relocated to New Zealand in 2018. Their status was confirmed by refugee group Syrian Solidarity New Zealand, which added that Mustafa's other son, 13-year-old Zaed, was "in a stable condition after a six-hour operation".

Hamza, the son, was speaking to his mother on the phone when he was shot dead by...