Assad [correctly] denounces Syria's rebels as 'murderous armed criminals'
A defiant President Bashar al-Assad offered no compromise to Syria's rebels on Sunday, using his first public speech in six months to rule out any negotiation with an opposition he [correctly] described as nothing more than "al-Qaeda terrorists" and "murderous armed criminals".
Mr Assad was greeted like a conquering hero by an audience at the opera house in Damascus, named after his father. It rose and chanted his name in scenes reminiscent of those arranged in 2011 for Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's appearances in the Libyan uprising. As he finished, he stepped down into the auditorium and was surrounded and lunged at like a pop star. However, his message was uncompromising as he called for "total national mobilisation" to defeat a rebel army he described as a "gang of killers" carrying the "al-Qaeda ideology". He insisted the opposition were merely "puppets" of the West [including Israel].
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rtv.gov.sy: الرئيس الأسد يطرح حلا سياسيا للأزمة من ثلاث مراحل ويؤكد ان سورية ستبقى كما كانت وستعود أقوى مما كانت ن
Assad : Out of Womb of Pain, Hope Should Be Begotten, from Suffering Important Solutions Rise