Article posted: 1/6/2013 5:55 PM

Defiant Assad pledges to continue fighting

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Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks at the Opera House in Damascus on Sunday. He outlined a new peace initiative that includes a national reconciliation conference and a new government and constitution but demanded regional and Western countries stop funding and arming rebels first.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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A defiant Syrian President Bashar Assad rallied a chanting and cheering crowd Sunday to fight the uprising against his authoritarian rule, dismissing any chance of dialogue with "murderous criminals" that he blames for nearly two years of violence that has left 60,000 dead.