--- description: Syrian President Bashar Assad claims government forces are handily beating the diverse range of opposition fighters in his country's civil war, now in its fourth year, as his loyalists capture former rebel-held towns near the Lebanese border title: Syrian president claims he has the "upper hand" in the civil war image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Syria](/tag/syria/) ## Syria Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Assad: Syrian War Is At 'Turning Point' by [Maddy Fry](/author/maddy-fry/) ## Maddy Fry Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2014 12:16 PM CUT by [Maddy Fry](/author/maddy-fry/) ## Maddy Fry Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2014 12:16 PM CUT Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on Monday [claimed the upper hand](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27016020 "undefined") in what he described as a “turning point” in the country’s civil war, reports the BBC. Government forces loyal to Assad have been gradually reclaiming rebel-held towns near the border of Lebanon for the last few months. The president’s army has also managed to secure Syria’s main north-south highway, allowing them to cut off crucial supplies to the rebels. Assad claimed this showed his forces winning what he called the “war against terror.” “This is a turning point in the crisis,” said Assad. The president is expected to announce soon that he will run for a third term in office. Since the civil war between rebels and pro-government forces erupted in Syria over two years ago, more than 150,000 people have been killed and millions more have been driven out of their homes. \[[BBC](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27016020 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/61378/assad-syria-war-turning-point/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/61378/assad-syria-war-turning-point/"},"headline":"Assad: Syrian War Is At 'Turning Point'","datePublished":"2014-04-14T12:16:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:17:18.106Z","description":"Syrian President Bashar Assad claims government forces are handily beating the diverse range of opposition fighters in his country's civil war, now in its fourth year, as his loyalists capture former rebel-held towns near the Lebanese border","url":"https://time.com/61378/assad-syria-war-turning-point/","keywords":["Syria","Bashar al-Assad","rebels"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maddy Fry","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maddy-fry/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/syria/","name":"Syria"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/61378/assad-syria-war-turning-point/","name":"Assad: Syrian War Is At 'Turning Point'"}}]}] ```