Syria’s Assad pledges to battle ‘terrorists’

According to the Syrian state news agency, Sana, President Assad has stressed that Syria will not be “tolerant” in pursuing what it calls “armed terrorist groups” but what much of the rest of the world considers to be unarmed civilian protesters.

Syria has faced international condemnation for its brutal crackdown on demonstrators, who have taken to the streets inspired by the Arab Spring. Thousands have died as tanks stormed cities and opened fire on civilians.

But it seems the pressure has not affected the attitude of the Assad regime. The president made his pledge, according to Sana, in a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Damascus.

The defiance flies in the face of not just western pressure but, as of this week, pressure from within the Arab world.

While President Assad has already ignored calls from the United Nations to end the bloodshed, on Monday Saudi Arabia stepped in to condemn the violence in a rare intervention.