JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - Within two weeks of the collapse of the Assad regime, Syria faces a fragile mix of hope and chaos, plagued by a volatile security situation and a worsening humanitarian crisis, top UN officials told the Security Council on Tuesday.
Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher briefed ambassadors via video link from Damascus, where they are engaging with key stakeholders to ramp up UN support and pushing for an inclusive and credible political transition.
They emphasized that while the current moment offers a rare opportunity for peace and rebuilding, it is fraught with risks.
Pedersen told Council members that the 54-year-long Assad regime's fall followed swift advances by the Military Operations Command, an armed coalition led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). A caretaker authority, composed of officials from the self-styled Syrian Salvation Government, has assumed power.
Northeast Syria, including some neighbourhoods of Aleppo, remains under the control of the United States-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). A five-day ceasefire between the US and Türkiye along the Euphrates River has expired, with reports of military build-ups and rising tensions.
'Such an escalation could be catastrophic,' Pederson warned.
Israeli troops have advanced several kilometres into Syrian territory according to multiple media reports. There have been hundreds of airstrikes on military facilities, equipment and supplies across Syria, which Israel described as a defensive measure.
'Such attacks place a battered civilian population at further risk and undermine the prospects of an orderly political transition,' Pedersen said, citing also reports of Israeli plans to expand settlements in the Golan.
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