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Syria militants threaten to abandon ceasefire agreement

Sunday, 22 May 2016 5:57 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 22 May 2016 5:58 PM ]

A militant from the Jaish al-Fatah prepares to fire artillery during clashes with Syrian government forces near the village of Om al-Krameel, in Aleppo on May 5, 2016. ©AFP

Syria’s militant groups have threatened to stop abiding by a cessation of hostilities deal unless Syrian government forces ends targeting terrorist positions near the capital, Damascus, within 48 hours.

Some 40 militant groups fighting against the Syrian government across the country signed a statement on Sunday, saying they would consider the truce as having “totally collapsed” if the government forces did not stop their fight against them in two days.

The statement also said once the two-day period is over, the foreign-backed militant groups would “take all possible measures and respond with all means.”

This came as the Syrian army made fresh gains against terrorists in the Eastern Ghouta region of Damascus on Friday and managed to retake 13 villages from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front elements.

The militants’ statement said that the Syrian army should stop fighting against terrorists and “pulls back to its pre-May 14 positions," especially in Daraya.

Militants drive a tank in a militant-held area of the southern Syrian city of Dara'a on May 10, 2016. ©AFP

In Hama, the Syrian soldiers broke the siege imposed on al-Zara power plant and forced terrorists to retreat and move to the town of Harbanafseh in the southern countryside of the province.

The Syrian Air Force further destroyed positions held by Daesh terrorists in al-Shaer field and Um al-Tababeer area in the central Homs Province.

The Syrian army has vowed to press ahead with its counter-terror military operations and drive terrorists out of their major strongholds.

A ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia went into effect on February 27 across Syria. The truce agreement does not apply to Daesh and al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front.

According to UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, over 400,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since March 2011.

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