Embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that his country is fighting a “regional and global battle” and it will take time for his regime to win it. (Reuters)
Embattled President Bashar al-Assad said talk of a Western-imposed buffer zone on Syrian territory was unrealistic and that the situation in his country, where rebels have been fighting to overthrow him, was “better.”
Assad was speaking in an interview with Syrian al-Dunia television, excerpts of which were broadcast by the station on Wednesday. The president, responding to rumors of his whereabouts since a July bombing in Damascus, said he was speaking from the presidential palace in the capital.
While Assad said the situation is “better” in Syria, he said the country is fighting a “regional and global battle” and it will take time for his regime to win it.
Rebels are fighting to overthrow Assad, who came to office in 2000 after succeeding his father, the late Hafez Assad who ruled Syria with an iron fist for some 30 years. The Syrian conflict has its roots in a wave of mostly peaceful protests that began last year but later morphed into a civil war.
At least 20,000 Syrians have been killed in the conflict, according to anti-regime rights activists.
