A new agreement between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces in the country’s northeast is being viewed by the United Nations as a potentially significant step toward stabilising a region long shaped by conflict and competing authorities. Briefing members of the UN Security Council for the first time in his role as Deputy Special Envoy […]
They urged swift implementation of recent agreements to prevent renewed fighting, protect civilians and preserve fragile gains made during the country’s transition. A country still on edge One year into Syria’s post-Assad transition, nearly three million refugees and internally displaced people have returned home, a sign of cautious progress. But UN officials cautioned that the […]
Secretary-General António Guterres is following the continuing violence “with great concern,” Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Tuesday in New York. The Secretary-General called for full respect for international law and the protection of civilians while also stressing the importance of securing detention facilities. He urged the parties to continue dialogue, move forward in good faith, and work together to secure the implementation of all agreements. Fearing […]
They warned that foreign military action, political exclusion and dwindling resources threaten to undo fragile gains. UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen – who announced that he will be stepping down from his role during the meeting – told ambassadors that interim authorities in Damascus have inherited “not just the ruins of shattered buildings, but the […]
Geir Pedersen told ambassadors that in Sweida governate, where sectarian violence in July also spurred conflict in the capital Damascus, the 19 July ceasefire has come under strain, but the conflict has not resumed so far. However, “we are still seeing dangerous hostilities and skirmishes on the margins of Sweida, and violence could resume at any moment,” he […]
Many of the victims were Alawite, a minority community in Syria, which the former ruling Assad family belonged to. Some community members are believed to have been killed in March by forces or individuals loyal to the country’s new leadership, the National Transitional Authority, which is headed by interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa. In response […]
Deadly sectarian clashes erupted in the southern governorate, also known as As-Sweida, in July and early August and children and families continue to feel the impact. At least 22 children reportedly were killed and another 21 injured in the violence, which caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure. More than 190,000 people, mainly women and children, […]
The 19 July truce followed weeks of sectarian clashes, Israeli airstrikes and grave human rights violations in the southern governorate, also known as As-Sweida. As a result, more than 190,000 people have been displaced there and in neighbouring Dar’a and Rural Damascus governorates. The fighting also caused severe damage to infrastructure and to livelihoods. Electricity […]
Declared on July 19, the ceasefire followed a harrowing wave of sectarian clashes, Israeli airstrikes and grave human rights violations. UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told ambassadors in the Security Council on Monday that the recent escalation had “rocked” the country’s already precarious transition and highlighted the need for “major course corrections” on […]
Since 13 July, around 176,000 people have been displaced from Sweida, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Mostly migrating to neighbouring Dar’a and Rural Damascus governorates, civilians are fleeing violent clashes between Bedouin tribal fighters, Syrian caretaker government forces and Druze militias. Meanwhile in the north of the country, […]
The dispute dates to 1953 when France first mapped the border, but tensions resurfaced in May after the death of a Cambodian soldier in a border skirmish. Secretary-General António Guterres is “following with concern” reports of the clashes, his Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told journalists in New York. “The Secretary-General urges both sides to exercise […]
Deadly sectarian violence has displaced more than 145,000 people in the southern city, some of whom have fled to neighbouring Dar’a and Rural Damascus governorates. The convoy carried a range of critical support, including food, wheat flour, fuel, medicines and health supplies. OCHA coordinated with the SARC to prepare the convoy, which included supplies from UN […]
More than 93,000 Syrians have been displaced across Sweida, neighbouring Dar’a governorate and Rural Damascus due to escalating violence in the city, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said at Monday’s daily press briefing in New York. Most displaced people in Sweida are staying with local communities or in one of 15 reception centres, while around 30 […]
Briefing reporters in Geneva, UN human rights office, OHCHR, spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani highlighted “credible” reports of “widespread violations and abuses, including summary executions and arbitrary killings, kidnappings, destruction of private property and looting of homes” in the city of Sweida. “Among the reported perpetrators were members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the […]
The Druze-majority Sweida governorate, long relatively insulated from earlier phases of Syria’s 14‑year conflict, has now become a flashpoint. Briefing an emergency meeting of the Security Council, UN Assistant Secretary‑General Khaled Khiari painted a grim picture: hundreds of casualties among soldiers and civilians –including women, children and the elderly – alongside reports of mass displacement, […]
As of Thursday, nearly 2,000 families have been displaced from violence-affected areas in Sweida governate and are currently sheltering in a dozen collective sites. Many are unable to return home due to damage, looting or destruction of their homes. The health systems in Sweida and neighbouring Dar’a governorate remain under critical strain, operating without power […]
The Security Council met on Thursday afternoon for an emergency session on Syria after deadly violence in the south and a wave of Israeli airstrikes that reportedly hit military sites and key locations in Damascus. Khaled Khiari, a senior UN political affairs official briefed ambassadors, warning that renewed bloodshed could derail prospects for a credible, […]
News reports estimate that the sectarian violence in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, south of the capital, has killed more than 200. Israel explained its attacks in the heart of the capital and on pro-government forces in Sweida as a defensive move in support of the Druze community, which has a significant presence within […]
On Sunday, violence erupted between Sunni Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militias in Sweida, two days after a Druze merchant was abducted on the highway to Damascus. The casualty figures are unclear according to local reports, but the death toll is at least 30, and hundreds have been injured. As violent unrest continued Monday, […]
The violence erupted two days after a Druze merchant was abducted on the highway to Damascus. The incident marks the latest episode of sectarian bloodshed in Syria, where fears among minority groups have surged since Islamist rebels toppled former dictator Bashar al-Assad in December and installed a new caretaker Government, which is gaining increasing international […]