Syrian President Bashar Assad sworn in for fourth term after much-criticsed election
![](https://en-smanews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/بشار-الاسد.jpg)
SMA NEWS – Damascus
Mr Assad’s re-election in May in a landslide was never in doubt. It was described by the west and Syria’s opposition as illegitimate and a sham
Syrian president Bashar Assad has been sworn in for a fourth seven-year term in the war-torn country, pledging to overcome the impact of western economic sanctions and retake territory still out of his control after 10 years of fighting.
Even as the swearing-in ceremony was held at the presidential palace, attended by clergymen, political figures, army officers and other supporters, activists reported that government shelling in the last rebel enclave in the north-west killed at least six people, including three children and their grandmother.
Mr Assad’s re-election in May in a landslide was never in doubt. It was described by the west and Syria’s opposition as illegitimate and a sham.