Syrian president orders forces to step up readiness

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday ordered his armed forces "to step up their state of readiness" as Israel continued offensives in neighboring Lebanon, the official SANA news agency reported.

Assad issued the order in a speech to the armed forces to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the foundation of the Syrian army, which falls on Tuesday, SANA said.

The president ordered troops to "intensify their training efforts, be prepared and increase their state of readiness in the light of the international situation and challenges in the region. "

"With our belief that martyrdom is the way of freedom and victory, we have to be confident that every effort and each drop of sweat spent in training now will in future spare a drop of blood when it is time to do so," Assad said.

"Our battle is continuous as long as our land is occupied and our rights are usurped, and victory is coming," he added.

Assad also reviewed the "flagrant aggression by Israeli war machine in air, land and sea" in Lebanon while expressing support to resistance there.

More than 700 Lebanese, most of them civilians, and more than 50 Israelis have been killed since Israel launched attacks on Lebanese Hezbollah on July 12 in retaliation for the Shiite group's abduction of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.

Source: Xinhua