Syria will resist any ground incursion into its territory and send the aggressors home "in coffins", its foreign minister said on Saturday, in comments clearly aimed at Sunni Arab countries that have said they were ready to join such an operation.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem also told a news conference a ceasefire in the Syria conflict would be virtually impossible while rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad's government were able to pass freely across the borders with Turkey and Jordan.

"Any ground intervention onto Syrian land without the agreement of the Syrian government is an act of aggression...and we regret that those (who do so) will return to their countries in coffins," he said.