Syrian President Bashar Assad delivered a sober assessment of the state of his forces on Sunday, acknowledging a manpower shortage and conceding troop withdrawals from some areas, but asserting that the military was not facing collapse.
The president defended a controversial triage strategy that has seen forces pull back from some zones while reinforcing units in other parts of the country.
“Are we giving up areas?" Assad asked as he posed a series of questions about the government's strategy. "Why do we lose other areas? ... And where is the army in some of the areas?"
The Syrian president endeavored to provide answers.