Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is expected to address the nation Monday after some three months of protests against his regime. The state news agency SANA said Assad will address "current circumstances."
Syria's ambassador to Washington said in a newspaper interview his government differentiates between the legitimate demands of protesters and those of armed gangs and conveyed Assad will deal with "all these issues in his speech".
Meanwhile, the Syrian press said the army on Sunday discovered huge amounts of rifles, pistols, hand grenades and bladed weapons, and dismantled explosives and dynamite planted on the roadsides. The Syrian TV said that the "armed gangs" in Jisr al-Shughour area in Idleb governorate used this equipment to boogy-trap roads and bridges where the army was supposed to use in order to enter the city.
It should be noted that Assad's speech comes amid reports the Syrian army is sweeping through the northwestern border region with Turkey and blocking those seeking to flee. Some 10,000 Syrian refugees have already crossed into Turkey.
