Syria's divided rebels and their foreign backers have been watching in disbelief as the regime gears up for an election to give Bashar al-Assad another presidential mandate despite their uprising.
The vote, which the Damascus regime can hold only in territory it controls and embassies abroad, signals confidence by Assad and his allies that they will win the war.
"Two years ago, we used to think it was impossible the regime would last long enough to hold the 2014 election. I just can't believe it's going to happen," sighed Thaer, an activist from Homs city, once known as "the capital of the revolution".
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