On the primary go to by a United Nations Secretary-Common to Syria since 2009, António Guterres appealed to the worldwide group to help the nation’s folks within the transition interval following the autumn of longtime chief Bashar al-Assad.
“I’ve simply arrived in Damascus on a solidarity go to. My message is evident: The United Nations stands with Syria at this significant second and I enchantment to the worldwide group to spare no effort in supporting the Syrian folks,” Guterres stated on the X program.
Instantly after his arrival, Guterres met with Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, earlier than touring Damascus Previous Metropolis and the well-known Umayyad Mosque.
His go to comes as Syria is recovering from the devastating battle that erupted in March 2011 and left greater than 500,000 folks useless.
The nation has struggled to recuperate from years of battle and the impression of crippling Western sanctions since December 2024, when forces led by al-Shara fighters stormed Damascus, ending 5 a long time of rule by the Assad household.
The USA and Europe have lifted lots of the sanctions imposed through the Assad dynasty, however to this point the impression on the bottom has been restricted.
Since Al Shara got here to energy, the worldwide group has referred to as on the brand new Islamic authorities to construct robust and efficient establishments and set up a system of governance that features all elements of Syria’s multi-ethnic, multi-religious society.
State of affairs within the Golan Heights is ‘unacceptable’
Guterres will meet with representatives of Syrian civil society and non-governmental organizations supporting girls’s points, and go to UN peacekeeping forces stationed within the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in southern Syria since 1974.
Because the overthrow of the Assad regime, Israel has dispatched troops to the United Nations-supervised buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces within the Golan Heights, conducting assaults and repeatedly invading deep into Syrian territory.
Israeli officers stated they intend to maintain troops in a “safety zone” in southern Syria and search a broader demilitarized zone.
“What is occurring within the space surrounding the Golan Heights is totally unacceptable,” Guterres stated at a press convention alongside Syrian Overseas Minister Assad al-Shaibani, calling for Israel’s “instant and unconditional withdrawal” from the realm.
Regardless of tensions between the neighbors, the brand new Israeli and Syrian authorities held a number of direct talks and agreed to determine an information-sharing mechanism, however the transfer didn’t cease Israel’s army actions.
In line with the United Nations, about 1.9 million internally displaced individuals and 1.7 million refugees from overseas have returned since al-Assad’s ouster, whereas about 5.5 million stay internally displaced and a further 6 million displaced overseas.
Many Syrians stay in poverty, with an estimated 15.6 million folks in want of humanitarian help.
