Syrian President Bashar Al Assad will be sworn in for his new seven-year term today, according to Agence France Presse reports from Wednesday.
A source close to Assad's regime told AFP Wednesday that the Syrian leader is set to be sworn in to his so-called latest elected term of office despite the ongoing conflict that has torn the country into pieces.
"President Assad will be sworn in before a large number of figures Wednesday. He will then give an inauguration speech in which he will outline plans for his new seven-year term," the source told AFP speaking on condition of anonymity.
The location of the ceremony has not yet been disclosed for security reasons.
Assad was elected to a new term in highly disputed elections in early June this year, where voting stations were only open in regime-controlled areas. Many opposition leaders were also barred from participating in the elections.
Former UN Special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi resigned in part in response to the elections, saying that holding such while the country remains at war represented a serious lack of commitment by the regime to end the ongoing crisis that has left at least 170,000 dead and millions more displaced from their homes.
