A Sunni gunman takes aim during clashes that erupted on Syria Street, which divides the areas between Sunnis and Alawites, in the northern port city of Tripoli, Lebanon, Saturday June 2, 2012. (AP Photo)
BEIRUT — Syria’s president says his country is facing a “real war” and he blames outside forces for driving the crisis.
President Bashar Assad is speaking to parliament Sunday as the country appears to be spiraling toward civil war.
He said the country is passing through its most critical stage since the end of colonialism.
His message was similar to previous speeches, in which he blamed terrorists for the country’s uprising. The revolt began last March.
It’s his first address since the massacre in Syria’s central region of Houla that killed more than 100 people, nearly half of them children. UN investigators have said there are strong suspicions that pro-regime gunmen are responsible for at least some of the killings.
BEIRUT – Syria’s president says his country is passing through its most critical stage since the end of colonialism, and he blames “outside forces” for the crisis.
President Bashar Assad is speaking to parliament Sunday as the country appears to be spiraling toward civil war.
His message was similar to previous speeches, in which he blamed terrorists for the country’s uprising. The revolt began last March.
It’s his first address since the massacre in Syria’s central region of Houla that killed more than 100 people, nearly half of them children, triggering international outrage and the expulsion of Syrian diplomats from world capitals.
UN investigators have said there are strong suspicions that pro-regime gunmen are responsible for at least some of the killings.