Assad: Syria war turning in favor of national army

President Bashar al-Assad said that Syria's three-year conflict is at a "turning point" due to the country's national forces' military gains against militants. Addressing graduate students and staff of the political science department in Damascus University, Assad pointed out, "There is a turning point in the crisis in Syria in terms of the continuous military achievements ... by the army and armed forces in the war against terror and in ... terms of national reconciliation," state news agency SANA reported. In recent months, army forces recaptured several militant-held areas and border towns, closing off militants supply routes from Lebanon and securing the main highway leading North from Damascus towards central Syria, Homs and the Mediterranean. The Syrian government has also managed localized truces in districts in and around Damascus, which has seen large numbers of militants defecting from their armed groups and joining the army. Syria has been experiencing unrelenting militancy since March 2011. The western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- are said to be supporting the militants operating inside Syria.