- NEW: At least 26 people are killed in Syria Wednesday, the LCC says
- The president says the destiny of Syrians is in their hands
- Armed forces, police and security forces "are carrying out heroic duties," he says
- Rights groups urge neighboring nations to keep their borders open
(CNN) -- Despite a rapidly deteriorating conflict that has left thousands dead in nearly 18 months of violence, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says "the situation is much better."
"This military is carrying out its duties. The armed forces, the police and the security forces are carrying out heroic duties with every sense," al-Assad said in an interview to air Wednesday on the pro-government Al-Dounia TV.
The station released snippets of the interview Tuesday.
Al-Assad has consistently said government forces are battling terrorists in the nation, a term the regime uses to describe those seeking the president's ouster.
"If there's one Syrian citizen who knows one of these men who is hesitant and has that desire to desert (the terrorist groups), let him encourage him to do so," he said.
Residents walk past buildings damaged in what activists said was an airstrike by the Syrian air force on Kafranbel, near Idlib, on Tuesday, August 28. 
Doctors treat a wounded girl at a hospital in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, on Tuesday. 
Residents look over the bodies of people killed in the violence Tuesday. 
Civilians flee the violence from the Damascus suburb of Kafr Batna. 
A man reacts as an ambulance arrives with the body of a Free Syrian Army fighter outside a hospital in Aleppo. 
A paramedic and another man cover the body of a Free Syrian Army fighter outside a hospital in Aleppo. 
Smoke rises in the Damascus suburb of Ain Terma during clashes between Syrian rebels and pro-government forces. 
A boy rides a bicycle toward fuel trucks struck by missiles from fighter jets in the Bab al-Nayrab district of Aleppo, Syria, on Monday, August 27. 
Fuel tankers smoke and smolder after being struck by missiles in Aleppo on Monday. 
Syrian army fighters discuss a new tactic to push the front lines in the Seif El Dawla neighborhood of Aleppo on Monday. 
A Free Syrian Army sniper takes his position in Seif El Dawla on Monday. 
Men arrested for their involvement in anti-regime protests wait to be released in Damascus on Monday. The official Syrian news agency reported that authorities released 378 people detained for their participation in street protests, adding that those freed were never involved in acts of violence. 
Free Syrian Army fighters run for cover in the old city of Aleppo on Monday. 
A woman sits in her wheelchair next to her house, damaged by an army air raid, near Homs on Sunday, August 26. 
Rebel fighters run for cover during continued clashes with government forces in Aleppo on Saturday, August 25. 
Rebel fighters fire in the streets against pro-Syrian government forces. 
A street in Aleppo is covered in rubble from heavy fighting between rebels and Syrian government forces. 
A picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency shows Syrian soldiers carrying the body of an alleged rebel fighter in Aleppo. 
A handout picture released by SANA shows army soldiers burning a revolution flag in Aleppo. 
A rebel fighter communicates to his commanders during ongoing fighting in Aleppo's Mashhad neighborhood. 
Residents line up along a street in Aleppo as they wait to receive free bread. 
Displaced Syrian familes sit in a shelter at the border with Turkey after fleeing their homes from violence. 
A Syrian boy whose family has been displaced due to fighting between rebel fighters and Syrian government forces stands in a field near the border with Turkey. 
A boy receives treatment for wounds he received during an airstrike by a regime forces helicopter in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Friday, August 24. Government forces blitzed areas in and around Syria's largest city, activists said, as Western powers sought to tighten the the reins on embattled President Bashar al-Assad's regime. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes aim at regime forces during clashes in Aleppo. 
A young boy runs across the street during clashes between Free Syrian Army fighters and forces loyal to al-Assad. 
A Syrian man reacts outside an operation room as doctors treat his grandchildren after an airstrike by regime forces. 
A Syrian boy receives treatment after he was wounded by shells from a government helicopter that hit his house. 
Family and friends look for the bodies of a woman and her two daughters killed by an airstrike on Sunday, August 19. See more photos from Ricardo Garcia Vilanova, who has spent a total of about five months covering different parts of Syria since 2011. 
People gather around the bodies of an entire family killed by the airstrike the day before on Friday, August 17, in front of a hospital. 
Two children are treated for shrapnel wounds at a hospital on Thursday, August 16. 
Members of the Free Syrian Army clash with Syrian army soldiers in Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district on August 22. 
A Syrian rebel fighter holds a handmade bomb in the Saif al-Dawla district in the center of Aleppo on August 22. 
Syrian rebels run for cover during heavy fighting in the Saif al-Dawla district in the center of Aleppo on August 22. 
Members of the Free Syrian Army take up positions as smoke rises in the background during clashes with Syrian army soldiers on August 22. 
A member of the Free Syrian Army aims his rifle as he uses doors as a shield on August 22. 
Members of the Free Syrian Army take cover during clashes with Syrian Army soldiers on August 22. 
A Syrian rebel fires towards a pro-government sniper in the Said al-Dawla district of Aleppo on August 22. 
Smoke rises from Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district after what activists say was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on August 21. 
Mourning relatives gather at the funeral of a Free Syrian Army fighter killed during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood of central Aleppo on August 21. 
Syrian rebel fighters stand around a cache of homemade missiles which they say they will use on forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on August 21. 
The father of Amar Ali Amero, a Free Syrian Army fighter who was reportedly killed by a sniper in the Salaheddine neighborhood of central Aleppo, mourns during his funeral in Azaz, north of Aleppo, on August 21. 
People pray during the funeral of the Free Syrian Army fighter, Amar Ali Amero on August 21. 
A Member of the Free Syrian Army fires during clashes with Syrian army soldiers in Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district, on August 20. 
A skirmish in the street of Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district between members of the Free Syrian Army and Syrian army soldiers on August 20. 
A man cries near the graves of his two children killed during a recent Syrian Air Force air strike in Azaz on August 20. 
Members of the Free Syrian Army prepare their weapons in Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district on Monday, August 20. 
Syrian bakers work in the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday, August 19, the first day of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. 
In this image provided by Syria's national news agency, SANA, President Bashar al-Assad, center, is greeted by a cleric while attending Eid al-Fitr prayers at al-Hamad mosque in Damascus on Sunday, August 19. 
Members of the Free Syrian Army and residents try to extinguish a fire that they say was caused by shelling by forces loyal to al-Assad in the Damascus suburb of Saqba on Friday, August 17. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes aim during clashes in Aleppo on Friday, August 17. For days, the northern Syrian city has been at the center of some of the worst fighting in the 18-month-old conflict. 
A rebel fighter makes his way through a hole in a wall during fighting Friday in Aleppo, Syria's largest city. 
A rebel climbs some stairs in a building during clashes in central Aleppo's Salaheddine neighborhood. 
A rebel fighter runs for cover as a Syrian army tank shell hits a nearby building Friday in Aleppo. The opposition accuses Syrian forces of shelling flashpoint neighborhoods in Aleppo where rebels are making a stand. 
Free Syrian Army fighters dress a mannequin to look like a fighter to draw gunfire away from them Friday in Aleppo. 
Free Syrian Army fighters rest Friday in Aleppo during a lull in fighting. 
A fighter with the rebel Free Syrian Army secures a street Friday in the Damascus suburb of Saqba. Fighting raged unabated Friday across Syria, while diplomats struggled to find a political solution. 
Members of the Free Syrian Army try to secure a street Friday in Saqba. 
The Free Syrian Army takes charge of a street in Saqba. 
A rebel holds a rocket-propelled grenade Friday in the Damascus suburb. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an anti-aircraft gun at a Syrian air force helicopter in Aleppo on Thursday, August 16. 
Free Syrian Army fighters carry the body of a fellow fighter during clashes Thursday in Aleppo. Government forces are pounding Syria's largest city in a siege that's become the focal point of the civil war. 
A grief-stricken woman clutches her dead baby while her husband's body is covered up following a regime airstrike on Azaz, a town near Aleppo, on Wednesday, August 15. 
Syrians search for people trapped under the rubble after the airstrike Wednesday in Azaz, near Aleppo. 
A man removes his belongings from his destroyed car at the airstrike site. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an AK-47 rifle in Aleppo on Wednesday, August 15. 
Syrians carry the body of a woman after an airstrike in Azaaz. 
A Syrian man reacts after an airstrike in Azaaz. 
Syrians flee Azaaz following the airstrike. 
A Syrian youth holds the arm of someone trapped under rubble after an airstrike in the town of Azaaz, on the outskirts of Aleppo. 
Black smoke billows into the air after a bomb exploded at a military site car park near a hotel used by United Nations monitors in Damascus. The explosion Wedesday wounded three people, Syrian state television said. 
Firefighters work at the scene of a bomb explosion in central Damascus. The bomb was planted under a diesel tanker. 
A man carries the body of a boy after a Syrian Air Force strike on Azaz, some 29 miles north of Aleppo. 
A man sits in front of tombstone workshop in Aleppo. 
Jordanian security guards patrol the entrance of the Zaatari refugee camp, located outside the northern Mafraq, Jordan, which borders Syria. Refugees face the hardships of sweltering heat, dust, lack of electricity and at times sexual harassment in this UN-run desert tent camp. 
Jordanian security officers detain a Syrian man after he tried to escape from the Zaatari refugee camp in Mafraq. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter learns that his commander has been killed by a tank shell in Aleppo on Tuesday, August 14. Opposition activists say shelling in dissident strongholds has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the country. 
Free Syrian Army fighters look at the body of their commander killed by a tank shell Tuesday in Aleppo. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter fires his rifle in Aleppo on Tuesday. 
Syrian rebels fire toward a sniper in Aleppo on Monday, August 13, as fighting continues against Syrian government forces. 
A rebel fighter fires at government forces Monday in Aleppo's Salaheddin neighborhood. 
A Syrian rebel climbs a staircase in Aleppo's Salaheddin district as the opposition battles the regime. 
A man gives bags of bread to customers at a bakery run by the opposition Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria's largest city. 
Rebels covered in dust and debris emerge from a building hit by an army tank shell Monday in Aleppo's Salaheddin area. 
A rebel fighter gestures toward others after emerging from a shelled building during fighting Monday with government forces. 
A Free Syrian Army sniper looks through the sight on his rifle from a house in Aleppo on Monday. 
Free Syrian Army fighters walk down a debris-covered street Monday in central Aleppo's Salaheddine neighborhood. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an RPG as a Syrian army tank shell hits a building across a street during heavy fighting in central Aleppo on Saturday, August 11. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter sits on a window sill as he holds an AK-47 rifle in central Aleppo. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter aims his rifle during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an RPG after a Syrian army tank shell hit a building during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter tries to fix his jammed rifle during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter runs for cover during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood. 
Free Syrian Army fighters walk through a damaged building during heavy fighting in the Salaheddine neighborhood. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter aims an RPG as he waits for Syrian army tanks in the Salaheddine neighborhood. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter walks on an empty street in the Salaheddine neighborhood. 
Free Syrian Army members check a confiscated cache of weapons found on a truck that was searched at a checkpoint in Dana. 
A rebel fighter fires an anti-aircraft gun during a regime airstrike on Tel Rafat, a village north of Aleppo, on Thursday, August 9. The Syrian government and rebel groups have been battling for control of Aleppo, a key front in the conflict that has morphed into a civil war. 
A Syrian air force fighter plane fires during an airstrike Thursday in Tel Rafat, north of Aleppo. Forces loyal to the regime have been shelling Aleppo, Syria's largest city. 
A truck burns after apparently being hit by rockets during an airstrike on Tel Rafat. 
Men carry the body of a boy killed in an airstrike in the village of Tel Rafat. 
A boy's body is uncovered in the rubble of a house demolished during the recent clashes in Tel Rafat. 
A man steps on a carpeted image of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Anadan, northwest of Aleppo, on Wednesday, August 8. The fighting has taken a toll on al-Assad's regime, which has been hit by assassinations and political and military defections. 
Residents sift through rubble Wednesday searching for bodies under a collapsed house destroyed in an airstrike. 
Syrian refugees bathe Wednesday at Al Zaatri U.N. camp in the Mafraq, Jordan, near the border with Syria. The recent shelling has led thousands of residents to flee Syria. 
Syrian refugees cook a meal at Al Zaatari camp in Mafraq, Jordan. 
A Syrian rebel prepares his weapon as a group of Free Syrian Army fighters head toward the fighting with Syrian Army soldiers in the Salah ad-Din neighborhood of central Aleppo on Sunday, August 5. 
Syrians evacuate a civilian wounded in shelling in the northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, August 4. Syria's armed forces pounded Aleppo's rebel-held Salah ad-Din district with air and ground fire as violence also raged in the Shaar and Sukkari districts, according to reporters in the area and a rebel commander. 
A vehicle burns as Syrians walk through debris from clashes between Syrian armed forces and rebels in the northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, August 4. 
A boy plays on the gun of a destroyed Syrian army tank partially covered in the rubble of the destroyed Azaz mosques, north of the restive city of Aleppo, on Thursday, August 2. 
Smoke rises from Al-Safsaf in Homs on Friday, August 3. 
A boy plays with an AK-47 rifle owned by his father in Azaz, some 29 miles north of Aleppo on Friday, August 3. 
Syrians climb on an abandoned Syrian army tank north of Aleppo on Thursday, August 2. 
A man looks at a destroyed Syrian army compound in Azaz, 29 miles north of Aleppo on Friday, August 3. 
A Syrian refugee walks at the
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