Syria’s President Assad salutes injured Syria soldiers

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has saluted the injured soldiers that have been engaged in the battle against terrorists in a country gripped by five years of deadly violence.

President Assad and his wife Asma greeted the soldiers and their mothers during a ceremony in Damascus to mark Mother’s Day. The footage of the meeting was aired on Syrian TV but the exact date was not provided.

“No matter what the whole country offers it is not compared to what you have offered to the country. The only thing that is equal to the sacrifices you have offered, whether in soul, health or the body, is the safety of the country. When the country returns to health, I believe that every one of you will say I feel that my hand, my leg, my eye and my health are now healed,” President Assad stated.

According to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people and displaced nearly half of Syria’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.