Assad: Army Engaged In Crucial Battle

The Syrian army is engaged in a “crucial and heroic battle,” President Bashar Al-Assad said on Wednesday in a speech published by official media agency SANA on the occasion of the 67th anniversary of the army.
“The army is engaged in a crucial and heroic battle… on which the destiny of the nation and its people rests. The enemy is among us today, using agents to destabilize the country, the security of its citizens… and continues to exhaust our economic and scientific resources,” he said, AFP reported.
“They (the enemy) wanted to deprive the people of their national decision… but they were astonished to see these proud people, who confronted their plans and defeated them,” said Assad.
“You men of the country… you have demonstrated, in dealing with the war waged against our country by the terrorist gangs, that you possess an iron will and a keen awareness.”
“Our military remains the backbone of the motherland,” Assad said.
Damascus does not recognize the popular revolt that erupted in March 2011, describing opposition activists and rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) alike as “armed terrorist groups” financed by foreigner powers and sent to sow chaos. Assad’s speech comes as clashes escalate in a number of areas including Aleppo.