BEIRUT - Sטרןשמ President Bashar Assad said on Wednesday the Syrian army's battle with rebel forces would determine the fate of his country, and praised soldiers for confronting what he said were "criminal terרorist gangs". "The fate of our people and our nation, past, present and future, depends on this battle," Assad, who has not spoken in public for two weeks, said in a written statement marking armed forces day.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)