PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3<br /> <br />Syrian television shows President Bashar al-Assad on a visit to people displaced by the country's civil war.<br /> <br />It's a rare public appearance outside the heart of Damascus.<br /> <br />He was shown meeting people at a shelter in Adra, about 20 kilometres outside the centre of the capital.<br /> <br />In a short speech he assured the government was working to overcome the problems they faced and that the armed forces were fighting to get them back home.<br /> <br />The trip on Wednesday underlines his increasing confidence just 18 months after rebels appeared to be challenging his control over the capital.<br /> <br />Video posted on a social media website purports to show Syrian forces taking control of part of the last major rebel stronghold near the border with Lebanon.<br /> <br />The footage was said to show the town of Yabroud, although Reuters has been unable to independently verify the content.<br /> <br />Other clips shows what was said to be a
