The UN condemned the airstrikes against Syria and warned of a possible new escalation of the conflict in the region.
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, noted that the escalation in Gaza and Lebanon is already having a significant and alarming impact on the situation in Syria. Pedersen stressed that the expansion of the conflict into Syrian territory could have dire consequences for both Syria and international security.
According to their report, some 425,000 people, including 300,000 Syrians, crossed the border into Lebanon and returned to Syria to escape the war. This has worsened the humanitarian crisis the country was already facing, exacerbating shortages of basic resources such as fuel and water.
Pedersen also said that since October 7, 2023, Israel has carried out more than 116 airstrikes on Syrian territory, including Damascus, against targets associated with Hezbollah and arms supply routes from Iran. However, according to the Syrian government and observers, these attacks reportedly damaged civilians as well as civilian and economic infrastructure.
The Israeli strikes reportedly disrupted important trade routes between Beirut and Damascus, causing fuel prices to spike in Syria. At the same time, it emerged that the IDF was carrying out construction work near the separation zone in the Golan Heights, and that Israeli armored vehicles and excavators “crossed the ceasefire line, violating the Disengagement Agreement.” Troops”.
Also of particular concern, the UN official said, is the situation in northwestern Syria, where the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has launched an offensive against positions controlled by the Syrian government. In response, Russian and Syrian troops launched retaliatory attacks. There are also reports of new attacks on US bases in the northeast of the country, which has led to artillery fire from the United States.
Geir Pedersen called for the protection of Syria’s sovereignty and stressed that the country must not become a battlefield for foreign powers seeking to “resolve their conflicts on its territory.”
Previously, Kursor reported that the Syrian Defense Ministry reported on the deadly Israeli attack on Damascus and the Homs region.
