Bashar Al-Assad

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A rebel sniper aims Nov. 4, 2012, through a hole in the wall that overlooks a position held by Syrian troops loyal to President Bashar Assad hidden in a nearby building as they attempt to gain ground on the rebel lines during heavy clashes in the Jedida district of Aleppo, Syria. (Associated Press)

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A rebel fighter prepares to throw a homemade grenade Nov. 4, 2012, toward a building where Syrian troops loyal to President Bashar Assad are hiding while they attempt to gain terrain against the rebels during heavy clashes in the Jedida district of Aleppo, Syria. (Associated Press)

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A rebel fighter fires a gun Nov. 4, 2012, toward a building where Syrian troops loyal to President Bashar Assad are hiding while they attempt to gain terrain against the rebels during heavy clashes in the Jedida district of Aleppo, Syria. (Associated Press)

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A rebel fighter claims victory Nov. 4, 2012, after launching a shoulder-fired missile toward a building where Syrian troops loyal to President Bashar Assad are hiding while they attempt to gain terrain against the rebels during heavy clashes in the Jedida district of Aleppo, Syria. (Associated Press)

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Rebel fighters run for cover through smoke from an explosion as they try to repel a coordinated attack from mortar, tank and aerial artillery fire by loyalists of President Bashar Assad in the Jedida district of Aleppo, Syria, on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras)

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A citizen journalist's image taken on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, and authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows buildings destroyed by the shelling of Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Assad in the al-Qossour neighborhood in Homs province in central Syria. (AP Photo/Lens Yong Homsi)

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** FILE ** Syrian President Bashar Assad (left) greets U.N. and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi before their closed-door meeting in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/SANA)

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Syrian President Bashar Assad ordered on Monday immediate repairs to the 13th-century Umayyad mosque, a historic mosque in Aleppo. (Associated Press)

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Syrian President Bashar Assad (left) meets with Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. Mr. Assad told Mr. Maurer that the Red Cross is welcome to operate on the ground in the country as long as it remains "neutral and independent," the SANA state news agency reported. (AP Photo/SANA)

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Syrian President Bashar Assad performs Eid prayers at the Hamad mosque in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012, to mark Eid al-Fitr, a three-day holiday ending the holy month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/SANA)