Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Defends Military Setbacks in Rare Public Appearance

In his first comments following a string of regime defeats, Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad said Wednesday he was “not worried” about the setbacks, adding that his armed forces would remain resolute, the LA Times writes. In a rare public appearance on Syria’s Martyrs’ Day, Assad played down recent rebel gains in northern and southern Syria, noting that “wins and losses, and ups and downs” were a normal part of warfare and do not mean the conflict is lost. “Psychological defeat is the final defeat and we are not worried,” he said. In the past two months, an alliance of Islamist insurgents including Syria’s al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra seized a number of towns in Syria’s northwest, including the provincial capital of Idlib and the strategic town of Jisr al-Shughur.

While Assad did not explicitly acknowledge his army’s losses in Idlib, he did vow to rescue regime forces and allied fighters that remain besieged in a hospital building in the now-insurgent-held town of Jisr al-Shughur. “And now, God willing, the army will arrive soon to these heroes who are besieged in the Jisr al-Shughur Hospital to continue the battle to defeat the terrorists,” Assad vowed. Fighting continued on Wednesday as Islamist fighters edge closer to the government stronghold of Latakia along the coast and heartland of Assad’s minority Alawite community. However, Assad urged his supporters to remain confident in the face of recent setbacks.

“In battles… anything can change except for faith in the fighter and the fighter’s faith in victory.”

“So when there are setbacks, we must do our duty as a society and give the army morale and not wait for it to give us morale,” he said

Assad’s speech comes a day after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah also labeled as “futile” and “baseless” a “wave of rumors” suggesting that Assad’s control was waning, the LA Times reports. The support of Hezbollah has been critical to the political survival of President Bashar al-Assad and his government, as it sent thousands of its fighters to support the Syrian army.

U.S. Leading Effort to Assign Blame for Syria Chlorine Attacks

The United States is spearheading an effort to attribute blame for chlorine attacks in Syria, opening a path for action following reports of continued chemical attacks, Agence France-Presse reports.

“There is a proposal for a mechanism which would allow relevant experts to have the right kind of access to answer the questions about attribution,” a Security Council diplomat said.

“The investigation would be carried out by a team of experts appointed by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and tasked with establishing who is to blame for the attacks,” Agence France-Presse writes.

Activists have reported several chemical attacks since the U.N. resolution passed last month condemning the use of chemical weapons including chlorine in Syria and threatened action in the case of new violation.

The U.N. Security Council, which remains badly divided on Syria, has been unable to follow up on a resolution because no one has had a mandate to assign blame.

The U.S., along with France and Britain, has repeatedly accused the Syrian government of conducting such attacks – a charge that Damascus denies. The U.S., France and Britain say that the Syrian military is the only force involved in the conflict that has helicopters to deliver the toxic weapons.

Russia, a top ally of the Syrian regime and a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council, has repeatedly said that there is insufficient evidence to assign culpability to the Syrian regime.

The U.S.-led proposal is scheduled to be discussed at the Security Council on Thursday.

“The Security Council must address the need to determine who is responsible for using chlorine chemicals as weapons in Syria,” a U.S. official said.

“Doing so is critical to getting justice for the Syrian people and accountability for those who have repeatedly used chemical weapons in Syria,” he added.

Recommended Reads

• NPR: New Opposition Leader Asks U.S. to Establish Safe Zones in Syria
• Reuters: Turkey – 5 Arrested Over Search of Syria-Bound Trucks
• Agence France-Presse: U.S. Says ‘Difficult’ to Contemplate Syria Safe Zone
• The New York Times: Syria is Using Chemical Weapons Again, Rescue Workers Say