Bashar al-Assad: The War in Syria Will Be Long and Difficult

Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, in an interview with the French weekly "Paris Match" published on Thursday, December 4, stated that he expects the conflicts in his country to be long and difficult. Assad also noted that the Syrian army will defeat the rebels and that he will not step down from power. He emphasized, "No one can predict when the war with the rebels of the Islamic State and other enemies will end, but they will fail to dominate the people of this country, and the army has been asked to advance." Concurrently with the release of Assad's interview, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced that 19 Syrian soldiers were killed during an attack by Islamic State militants on the Deir ez-Zor airbase in eastern Syria. The Syrian President commented on the state of his country's army, stating, "The army cannot be present everywhere at the same time. When the army is not present, terrorists take advantage of the opportunity to cross the border and infiltrate another area." He added, "This is not a war between two armies... We are facing terrorist groups that infiltrate a city or village. Therefore, this war will be long and difficult." The text of Bashar al-Assad's interview was also published by the official Syrian news agency, SANA. He referred to the U.S. airstrikes against ISIS positions that have been ongoing since September as "illegal intervention," which he claimed has not changed the situation in the war against the Islamic State. When asked if he sees a prospect for stepping down from power as a solution to the crisis in his country, he said, "The government is like a ship: the captain cannot leave the ship in a stormy situation. He does not leave the deck. If passengers need to leave the ship, he will be the last to leave the deck." Reports from Syria indicate that Islamic State militants attacked a military airbase in eastern Syria during a nighttime operation. Syrian opposition groups stated that the aim of this attack was to eliminate the last important stronghold of the Syrian regime in areas controlled by this extremist group. According to Reuters from Beirut, this base near the city of Deir ez-Zor is one of the regime's important military installations. Its airport houses fighter jets that bomb most of the cities and areas controlled by the Islamic State in eastern Syria. Capturing this airport would not only break the regime's resistance in this area but also serve as propaganda and boost the morale of fighters after recent defeats. The attack on the airbase occurred overnight. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the militants' operation began with a suicide bombing of a car carrying explosives at a military position next to the airport. Rami Abdulrahman, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, stated, "They want to capture the airport. This attack is larger than previous operations by ISIS." The "Local Coordination Committee," which is a collection of opposition groups against the Syrian regime, also reported the occurrence of this attack. Both groups stated that heavy clashes were ongoing between the two sides after government forces began shelling the villages surrounding the airbase. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which obtains its information from a network of activists based in Syria, reported that at least 19 government forces and seven ISIS militants were killed in these clashes. Meanwhile, Syrian state television reported that government forces killed many ISIS militants in several heavy attacks on their positions in Deir ez-Zor, destroyed their equipment, and seized military vehicles and heavy weapons. Reuters further noted that if this attack marks the beginning of a significant offensive by ISIS to capture the airbase, the Syrian government will have to carefully assess the cost of defending this base, which is located in an area largely controlled by jihadist militants. The Islamic State group last summer captured several airbases in the suburbs of Raqqa in northern Syria, bringing the Raqqa province under its complete control. After capturing Raqqa, the group's militants executed hundreds of government forces en masse, beheaded many, and displayed their corpses in the captured cities. Following these defeats, the Syrian government faced severe criticism from its supporters. After the Islamic State group captured most of northern and western Iraq last summer and added to its areas of control in Syria, the battle against this group turned into a regional and international crisis. In July, the group declared an Islamic caliphate in the areas under its control, introducing Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as its caliph. ISIS militants violently enforced Islamic laws in these areas. Even in this significant situation, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi remains a secretive and mysterious figure. He has appeared in public only once, and little information is available about his personal life. Last week, conflicting reports emerged in the media regarding the arrest of one of his wives and child. Lebanese officials stated that they had arrested his wife and daughter. However, later, an Iraqi official stated that the arrested woman is not al-Baghdadi's wife. In the first statement from Lebanese officials, the interior minister said that DNA tests of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi sent from Iraq indicate that the child accompanying this woman is al-Baghdadi's daughter and that this woman was al-Baghdadi's wife for three months six years ago, although she apparently is no longer his wife. Lebanese security officials had previously stated that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's son had been arrested in the country.