Syrian president admits 'state of war'

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on June 26 that the country was in a state of war and instructed his newly appointed government to focus all efforts on defeating the uprising against him.

In a speech to the Cabinet broadcast on state television, Mr Assad said: "We are living in a real state of war from all angles. When we are at war, all policies, all aspects and all sectors should be directed towards winning this war."

President Assad also rejected Western countries' demands for his resignation.

On the same day, UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the UN Security Council that the dangerous situation in Syria was escalating so the UN observer mission could not resume operations in the country.

Earlier, the head of the UN mission in Syria, General Robert Mood, announced on June 16 that the mission had to stop its operations due to increased risks to the 300 military observers, who have become the target of gun and bomb attacks./.

According to (Vietnam+) - DT