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Assad Swears in New Syrian Cabinet


Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (front C) poses with members of his new cabinet in Damascus, Aug. 31, 2014.
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (front C) poses with members of his new cabinet in Damascus, Aug. 31, 2014.

Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad has sworn in a new Cabinet, as his government continues to fight in a 3-year-old war with rebels seeking his ouster.

Assad was sworn in for a new 7-year term on July 16, after a presidential election that confirmed his grip on power. The vote was dismissed as a farce by much of the international community and the opposition, and was held only in government-controlled territory.

He said the government's success will depend on earning the trust of citizens through transparency.

The United Nations has called the Syrian conflict "the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era."

More than 3 million people have fled Syria's civil war and another 6.5 million are displaced within Syria.

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