Bashar Al-Assad

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A Syrian gunman fires into the air during the funeral for Free Syrian Army fighter Husain Al-Ali, 29, who was killed in clashes with forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, on Thursday. The regime has been trying to drive rebels out of Syria’s largest city for two weeks. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** Syrian President Bashar Assad delivers a speech on Sunday, June 3, 2012, at the parliament in Damascus, Syria. (Associated Press/SANA)

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A Free Syrian Army soldier points his weapon and stands on a likeness of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the border town of Azaz, some 20 miles north of Aleppo, Syria. Turkey on Wednesday sealed its border with Syria. (Associated Press)

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Fahd Jassem al-Freij (left), Syria's new defense minister, is sworn in before Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday, July 19, 2012. (AP Photo/SANA)

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In this citizen journalist image, smoke billows July 18, 2012, over Damascus, Syria, after a bomb ripped through a high-level security meeting and killed three top regime officials, including President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law. (Associated Press)

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Syrian President Bashar Assad (left) stands next to Gen. Dawoud Rajha (right), Syria's defense minister, during a ceremony to mark the 38th anniversary of the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war, in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/SANA)