Syria Army Says Will Fight Back against Rebel Violations

The Syrian army on Saturday accused rebels of committing increasing violations of a failed truce proposed for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday and vowed to fight back.

"For the second day, terrorist groups continued to flagrantly violate the ceasefire announced and respected by the army command," the military said in a statement on state television.

"The army will continue to track this increase of violations... and fight back against these criminal acts."

Foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Maqdisi said the army was committed to the truce, blaming rebels for provoking a response.

"The Syrian government is still completely committed to stopping military operations," Maqdisi told Agence France Presse in an email.

"But the violations that were committed were a consequence of attacks staged mostly by (rebel) groups that from the beginning refused the ceasefire, as shown by their official statements," he added.

The Syrian authorities have informed the UN Security Council of truce violations, he said. "We have documented the violations and sent messages to the UN Security Council," said Maqdisi.