Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday made a rare visit to the historic Christian town of Maaloula, north of the capital Damascus, to mark Easter, according to the official SANA news agency.

"President Bashar al-Assad wished the Syrians a blessed Easter and the return of security and love to all Syria," SANA cited Assad as saying during his visit to Maaloula, one of the oldest cradles of Christianity in Syria, where intense battles have been taking place between the Syrian army and the rebel groups.

On April 14, the Syrian government troops took the control of Maaloula, dislodging the rebels who had stormed there since last year.

Assad visited the monastery of Mar Sarkis and Bakhus, checking the destruction that has caused by the radical groups attacks, the state news agency reported.

As the presidential election is approaching, the president has recently made several public appearances, but his visit to Maaloula apparently aimed at showing confidence and power, as his troops have swept battles against the armed militant groups on many frontlines across the country, mainly in central and southern Syria.

The Assad administration has projected itself as a defender of the minority groups' rights in Syria in the face of the jihadists- dominated opposition militias that have targeted Syrians of different sects and beliefs in Syria.

Syria's Christians, taking up about 10 percent in the country's Sunni-majority population, have felt the pain of the protracted crisis, as their population has been subject to attacks by the radical rebels.