“Our war on terrorism will not cease as long as there is one terrorist left,” Assad was quoted as saying by the Syrian presidency’s Telegram account on Wednesday.
“We will continue to confront the Western scenarios that target the unity and sovereignty of our country,” he added, according to Reuters.
The Syrian war enters its eighth year this week. What started as protests against the Syrian government in March 2011 progressed into an armed conflict that drew regional and international powers as well as foreign militant fighters. The conflict has torn the country apart.
According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.