President Bashar Assad joined thousands of his supporters Wednesday in an extremely rare public appearance at a rally in the capital Damascus, telling the crowd he wanted to draw strength from them.

Assad, 46, was surrounded by security guards when he appeared in the crowd, dressed more casually than usual in a jacket but no tie.

"I wanted to be with you so I can draw strength from you in the face of everything that Syria is subjected to," he said. "It was important that we maintain our faith in the future. I have that faith in the future and we will undoubtedly triumph over this conspiracy," he said.

Assad has made very few public appearances since the uprising against his regime began 10 months ago.

He has blamed the revolt on foreign-backed conspirators and threatened on Tuesday to strike back at those who threaten his regime with an "iron hand."