The New York Times reports that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that the situation in Syria “is, practically, better.” The claim is part of a televised interview set to air on a private Syrian television channel on Thursday night. Assad noted that the conflict is a “global and regional war,” and that his government still needed “time” to defeat the opposition forces.
The interview comes amidst increased fighting in and around Damascus. Eleven people were reportedly killed in the city’s eastern suburbs, according to the NYT, as part of the government’s “cleansing” operation. Refugees continue to stream into both Jordan and Turkey, the latter of which announced it would cap the number of incoming refugees at 120,000.
