Syria’s Al-Assad to be Sworn in for 3rd Term

BEIRUT (dpa/NAN) ― Embattled Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad will be sworn in on Wednesday for a third seven-year term in a country roiled by a civil war now in its fourth year.

Al-Assad, who was re-elected in June in a vote dismissed as a farce by the opposition and its Western backers, would be inaugurated at the presidential palace in Damascus.

Families of pro-regime Syrians killed in the conflict were expected to be present.

With jihadist groups making advances in several parts of Syria, al-Assad, who took power in 2000, has recently portrayed his regime as necessary to stem the tide of radicalism boosted by militants’ blitz in neighbouring Iraq.

The opposition and its Western backers have repeatedly called on al-Assad to step down.

Syria’s conflict started in 2011 with peaceful anti-government protests before descending into all-out war.

Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that it had documented more than 171,000 deaths.