FM: Foreign troops entering Syria would return ‘in coffins’

Syria’s government warned Saturday that its forces would resist any foreign ground intervention after reports that Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which both support rebel forces, could send in troops, AFP reported.

Al-Moualem said that any ground intervention in the country, that did not have the government’s permission, would be considered an “act of aggression” and that the troops would be sent home in wooden coffins.

The Syrian Foreign Minister has warned that any foreign ground troops who enter the warzone without official approval would be sent home to their countries ‘in coffins’.

The minister said the Saudi desire to enter Syria came after their frustration with the defeats dealt against the Saudi-backed militants in key Syrian areas recently. Russia’s Defense Ministry on Thursday said it had “reasonable grounds” to suspect Turkey is making intensive preparations for a military invasion of Syria.

Al-Moallem added, in a press conference, that the Security Council resolution no. 2254 and the two Vienna Communiques state that the Syrian people alone have the right to determine their future and that dialogue should be a Syrian- led among the Syrians without foreign interference and without preconditions, while the statements of “Riyadh opposition” delegation, made even before the go to Geneva, were full of preconditions.

He said the Syrian government is ready to settle the situation of the rebels who abandon the insurgency against the Syrian government “because they are the sons of this country”.

The comments come after Bahrain followed Saudi Arabia in announcing that it is ready to commit ground troops to Syria as part of a U.-S.-led coalition against ISIS.

Syria will see any incursion on its territory as an act of aggression, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said today just days after Saudi Arabia announced it was ready to send in ground troops.

More than 250,000 people have been killed in Syria’s five-year war, with recent Russian airstrikes reported to have killed at least 150 civilians, with many people still attempting to flee the country and an estimated 70,000 refugees set to reach the country’s border with Turkey by 7 February.

Meanwhile, amid the sweeping victories of the Syrian army in Aleppo, the minister urged the rebels in Aleppo to lay down their weapons as a result of the Syrian military progress.

“They talk big”, Jafari said.

He said the Syrian delegation was the first to arrive in Geneva, adding that all the government asked for was a list of the opposition groups that were planned to take part in the talks.

Al-Moallem said the Saudi-backed opposition never meant to negotiate seriously.