Al-Assad blames 'external conspiracy' for Syria violence Videograb from Syrian state television shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad delivering a speech in Damascus on January 10 NEW: Al-Assad blames both Western and Arab elements for the unrest NEW: He reserves the bulk of his criticism for Arab nations Damascus, Syria (CNN) -- In a rare speech Tuesday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad blamed the unabated violence in his country on an "external conspiracy." While he did not explicitly point the finger at a particular country, a defiant al-Assad blamed both Western and Arab elements for the unrest. "The mask has fallen off these faces," he said. No wise person denies these international conspiracies that is being done in order to spread fear inside. But this time, it was done with people from inside. He also took to task international media, accusing some journalists of editing and fabricating his quotes. "We have more than 60 televisions stations working against Syria," he said. He reserved the bulk of his criticism for Arab nations for not standing with Syria and for coming down on it for human rights abuses. "Their situation is like that of a doctor who tells people not to smoke while he has a cigarette in his mouth," he said. "We have been working for years to create an office to boycott Israel," he said, referring to the Arab League initiative against Syria. But in weeks they did it against Syria, Are they swapping Israel for Syria? Al-Assad's speech came the same day that the U.N. Security Council is expected to meet for the first time this year to discuss the brutal and sustained government crackdown on anti-regime protesters. But the crew's equipment for live broadcasting was confiscated on arrival.