Until the NDF was created, the regime would "retake" a district by sending tanks down the main streets, snapping photographs, and then withdrawing again, leaving the rebels to move back in. Now a combination of urban warfare training and a greater inculcation with "patriotic values", is making a difference. "We are not fighting for Assad," the man said. "The country comes first. He is the best in the world but we still don't fight for him, we fight for the country. Those people want to take us back to the dark ages."