Barely 48 hours since the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the UN’s special envoy to Syria, has insisted that nothing could be taken for granted.
“Syria is now at a crossroads with great opportunities for us, but also with grave risks. And we need really to look at both,” said Geir Pedersen.
“We know that, of course, HTS [Hayat Tahrir al-Sham] is now the dominant group in control of Damascus, but it’s important also to remember that they are not the only armed group in Damascus.”
Syria’s armed opposition forces launched a large-scale offensive on government troops in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates on November 27. By the evening on December 7, they had seized several large cities, including Aleppo, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, Daraa, and Homs.
On December 8, they entered the capital, Damascus, while government troops withdrew from the city. Al-Assad had to flee the country with his family, relocating to Russia’s capital, Moscow.
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Amid images of jubilant scenes on the streets of the capital following the end of the Assad regime, Mr. Pedersen cautioned that the transfer of power had been accompanied by reports of robberies and the “invasion of public buildings or private homes,” he told journalists at a press briefing in Geneva.
Beyond Damascus, the situation remains less certain, a legacy of Syria’s 13-year war that has drawn in regional and international actors, hindering efforts towards peace and stability.
“The conflict in the northeast is not over; there has been clashes between the Syrian National Army, the opposition groups and the [Syrian Democratic Forces]. We are calling obviously for calm also in this area,” the UN Special Envoy said.
Turning to numerous reports of Israeli troop movements into the Occupied Golan Heights and bombardments of targets inside Syria, Mr. Pedersen insisted: “This needs to stop.”
“I am not in contact with the Israelis, but of course, the United Nations in New York, they are. And, you know, the peacekeepers in the Golan Heights, are in daily contact with the Israelis.
“And of course, the message from New York is just the same – that what we are seeing is a violation of the disengagement agreement in 1974,” Pedersen stressed.
