Assad Praises Army, Claims Recent Battles To Determine Fate Of Nation

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The BBC reports that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has not spoken publicly for two weeks, released a written note Wednesday saying that the future of Syria depends on the outcome of the most recent bout of fighting. “The fate of our people and our nation, past, present and future, depends on this battle,” Assad wrote.

Assad also praised the regime’s soldiers for facing the “armed terrorist gangs” that Assad blames for the instigating the civil war. He added that he believes the war will be won solely through the efforts of the soldiers’ “heroic steadfastness,” but also by the country’s “proud people, who astonished [the rebels] by confronting their plots and inflicting defeats on them.”

Recent reports indicate that fighting has erupted in the Christian neighborhoods in Damascus, and that fighter jets have continued to attack rebel groups in Aleppo. NBC also reported that the Free Syrian Army had obtained approximately two dozen anti-aircraft missiles, a claim the FSA denied.

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