Syria election results show support for reforms, says Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that the results of last week’s parliamentary elections prove people support his government’s reforms.

Mr Assad told Russian TV they also represented a message that Syrians were “not scared by terrorists’ threats”.

The election commission said on Tuesday that turnout was 51% for the polls, which the opposition said were a farce.

Meanwhile, UN observers who came under fire on Tuesday have been rescued after spending the night with rebel fighters.

UN spokesman Hassan Seklawi said other UN personnel picked up the six-strong team from the northern town of Khan Sheikhoun on Wednesday.

A commander of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), Abu Hassan, told Reuters news agency that the observers were “in good health and on their way to Damascus”.

The FSA also published video footage showing a UN convoy, including three damaged UN vehicles on flatbed lorries, driving off from the area.

None of the observers was injured in Tuesday’s violence in Khan Sheikhoun, which activists said left at least 20 people dead.