( CNN ) -- Syria 's President Bashar al-Assad has made a rare `` surprise '' visit to an educational center in the capital , Damascus , in an apparent effort to show that it is `` business as usual '' for the regime , despite the country 's brutal civil war . A video posted on YouTube by al-Assad 's office shows him driving up to the building in the al-Tijara neighborhood -- at the wheel of his own car -- on Wednesday and walking inside , alone , watched by families from balconies and apartments nearby . The film then shows the president , wearing a dark suit and tie , smiling as he is greeted with applause , before talking to those who have gathered to meet him . He is seen hugging one woman , shaking hands with a man , and putting his hand on the shoulder of a young woman wearing a pink headscarf . Middle East expert Christopher Phillips , of think tank Chatham House , said the video and reports of the meeting chime with efforts to portray al-Assad as an approachable man of the people . He said the visit was part of efforts to convince those inside and outside the country that life is carrying on as normal in Syria . The regime has continued to pass laws and hold elections in spite of the deadly conflict tearing the country apart . Read more : Al-Assad , defined by violence . `` The pretense is a vital part of the strategy , '' he told CNN . `` The regime still believes it will win the war ; to do that it is important that al-Assad is not seen as a deranged , butchering madman , but as a normal person . `` They believe that they can survive isolation , that they can defeat what they call the 'insurgency ' and that , after a time , they will be reintegrated into the international fold ... but they have to maintain that pretense . '' Up to 70,000 Syrians are believed to have died in the Syrian conflict since March 2011 , the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in February . What began amid the turmoil of the Arab Spring as an uprising against Bashar al-Assad has spiraled into a bitter civil war which now threatens to destabilize the Middle East . More than a million refugees have fled the fighting , crossing the border and flooding into overloaded camps in neighboring Turkey and Jordan . Read more : Profile : Asma al-Assad . Syria 's official SANA news agency reported that the president and his wife Asma later met the families of teachers and students `` martyred due to terrorist attacks '' to offer them support . SANA quoted al-Assad as saying : `` Today Syria as a whole is wounded ... there is no one that did n't lose one of his or her relatives , a brother , father or a mother , '' before insisting that the country is involved in `` a battle of will and steadfastness , '' calling on the audience to remain strong to protect others . It was the second public outing for the normally camera-shy al-Assad family in less than a week , after months out of the limelight : Asma al-Assad was spotted at a `` Mother 's Rally '' at the Damascus Opera House last weekend , scotching rumors she had fled the country for Russia , the UK or Jordan . Philips said the reappearance of Syria 's glamorous Sunni first lady was highly significant , with the civil war becoming increasingly sectarian in recent months . `` In marrying Asma -- a non-veiled , secular Sunni -- Bashar al-Assad , who is Alawite , crossed the sectarian divide , and their relationship helped create an image of Syria as an integrationist , non-sectarian society , '' he explained . `` Making sure she is seen in public , showing that she is still with him , supporting him is very important ... it is part of the show of defiance , of them saying 'We 're still here , and we 're still doing things our way . ' '' Read more : Getting to know Syria 's first family .
Normally camera - shy Syrian president made surprise visit to arts education center . Bashar al - Assad met families of those killed in ` ` terrorist attacks '' , state news agency reports . YouTube video of visit shows al - Assad arriving at the center at the wheel of his own car . Official Syrian news agency says president , first lady later spoke to ` ` families of martyrs ''