Syrian army 'fatigued' but will prevail Admits Assad

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad acknowledged the shrinking ranks of his government's army in a rare public speech yesterday, but insisted the force was still capable of beating rebel fighters.

Speaking in Damascus, Assad also said any bid to end the conflict that was not based on fighting "terrorism" would be "meaningless". Syria's army once had around 300,000 members, but has been roughly halved in size by deaths, defections.

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Assad's speech comes after several months of setbacks for his government, which faces opponents including ISIS, al-Qaeda-affiliated fighters and other rebel groups.