Western airstrikes make Assad more determined to crush enemies

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that Western airstrikes would only make him more determined to crush his enemies.

“This aggression will only make Syria and its people more determined to keep fighting and crushing terrorism in every inch of the country,” he said in comments published by his office.

Reuters reported that the comments were made in a conversation with ally, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, on Saturday.

Rouhani told Assad that Iran would continue to stand by Syria, “expressing his confidence that this aggression would not weaken the determination of the Syrian people in its war against terrorism”.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Presidency media office on Saturday released a video clip showing President Bashar al-Assad entering his office as usual after the US-led airstrikes.

The video clip, titled "Morning of Steadfastness," was apparently meant to show the strength and defiance of Assad in the face of the US-led airstrikes, brushing aside recent rumours about the whereabouts of the Syrian president.

The US, France, and Britain launched a volley of strikes Saturday morning around the capital Damascus and the central city of Homs in Syria over allegations of using chemical weapons.

Earlier Syria was joined by Iran and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah in condemning the joint US, French, and British strikes on Damascus’ chemical weapons facilities.

Syria’s government on Saturday denounced Western strikes on its military installations as a “brutal, barbaric aggression” that violated international law.