For the first time since some of his most senior officials were killed in a bombing, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has appeared on television to deliver a message of defiance.
 
The Syrian government's battle to put down the mass uprising that began last year is moving forward, and the situation has become "better," Assad said.

In the interview by the privately owned but pro-government Al Dounia channel, Assad disparaged the idea of foreign countries creating buffer zones in Syrian territory and said that citizens who have fled the country and officials who have defected are helping "cleanse" Syria.

"I can summarise in one phrase: we are progressing, the situation on the ground is better but we have not yet won. This will take more time," Assad said. 
 
Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports.