Assad vows to retake all of Syria, keep 'fighting terrorism'

February 13, 2016 00:42

President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to recapture the whole of Syria and keep "fighting terrorism" while also negotiating an end to the war, as

international pressure mounts for a ceasefire.

His defiant stance, in an exclusive interview with AFP released today, doused hopes of an imminent halt to hostilities, which world powers are pushing to take effect within a week.

Assad said the main aim of a Russian-backed regime offensive in Aleppo province that has prompted tens of thousands of people to flee was to cut the rebels' supply route from Turkey.

He said his government's eventual goal was to retake all of the country, large swathes of which are controlled by rebel forces or the Islamic State jihadist group.

"It makes no sense for us to say that we will give up any part," he said in the interview conducted yesterday in Damascus.

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