Damascus to Consider Armed Groups Rejecting Ceasefire to Be Terrorists

Armed groups unwilling to abide by the ceasefire agreement will be considered terrorists by the Syrian government.

BEIRUT (Sputnik) – The Syrian leadership will consider any group not observing the ceasefire to be terrorists, Al Mayadeen television reported Wednesday citing an official source in the Syrian Foreign Ministry.

“Armed groups refuting the decision on a ceasefire and conducting military actions will be considered terrorists,” the broadcaster reported a Syrian Foreign Ministry official as saying.

On Monday, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced an agreement on cessation of hostilities between the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad and the armed opposition factions had been reached. The agreement will come into force on February 27.

The deal between Russia and the United States was approved by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG). During its meeting on February 12, the ISSG agreed a final communique calling for swift humanitarian access to all besieged areas in Syria, and set a one-week deadline for measures to be implemented toward the cessation of hostilities in the country.