This image made from amateur video released by the Ugarit News and accessed Monday, July 30, 2012, purports to show Free Syrian Army soldiers in Anadan 16 kilometers (10 miles), from Aleppo, Syria. Syrian government forces mounted new ground attacks against rebel-controlled neighborhoods in Syria's commercial hub of Aleppo, the state media said Monday, July 30, but failed to dislodge the opposition from their strongholds, according to activists. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO
August 01, 2012 - 5:12 AM
BEIRUT - Syrian President Bashar Assad says foreign enemies are using "internal agents" to undermine the country's stability.
Speaking to the army Wednesday on the 67th anniversary of its founding, Assad said the armed forces are the "homeland's shield" against plots by criminal and terrorist gangs.
He said the people see the army as a "source of pride" and a "defender of just causes."
The speech, which was carried by the state news agency but not broadcast on state television, was a rare comment from the president who has kept a low profile during recent fighting in the country's two main cities.
Syria is enmeshed in a 17-month rebellion pitting rebels against the army.
News from © The Associated Press, 2012