President Assad in Rare Visit to Displaced Syrians; Says He Will Continue to Fight Terrorist Rebels

In a rare public appearance, President Bashar Assad today (March 12, 2014) visited displaced Syrians in a frontline suburb of the country's capital, where he vowed to keep up the fight against gunmen whom he blamed for driving people from their homes, the New York Post website reports.

The visit to a shelter for displaced people in the Damascus suburb of Adra -- just northeast of the capital -- coincides with advances by his troops battling rebels who captured parts of the suburb in December, displacing thousands from the area.

The visit to Adra was Assad's first public appearance outside Damascus since August, when he toured the suburb of Daraya -- once a rebel stronghold -- and in the same week, took part in a public iftar, the meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"The state will continue to fight terrorism and terrorists who displace people from their homes and commit ugly crimes against them," Assad said. His government refers to opposition fighters as terrorists.

Syria's civil war -- which begins its fourth year this month -- has killed more than 140,000 people.