A handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on May 6, 2015, shows President Bashar al-Assad (C-L) standing amid the crowd during an appearance at a school in the capital Damascus on Syria&#039;s Martyrs Day. Assad said that setbacks are a normal part of war and do not mean the conflict is lost, in his first comments after several regime defeats. AFP PHOTO / HO / SANA