NEW YORK: (HRNW) The UN special envoy for Syria warned on Tuesday that the current military escalation in Syria is dangerous for civilians and regional stability, and he urged Turkiye and Kurdish-led forces in the north to de-escalate immediately and restore the relative calm that has prevailed for the last three years.
Geir Pedersen told the Security Council that the UN’s call for maximum restraint and de-escalation also applies to other areas in Syria. He pointed to the upsurge in truce violations in the last rebel-held stronghold in northwest Idlib, airstrikes attributed to Israel in Damascus, Homs, Hama and Latakia, as well as reported airstrikes on the Syria-Iraq border and security incidents and fresh military clashes in the south.
In northwest Idlib, he said, government airstrikes have killed and injured civilians who fled fighting during the nearly 12-year war and now live in camps.
He said the attacks destroyed their tents and displaced hundreds of families.
The Al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group, the most powerful militant group in Idlib, reportedly attacked government forces and government-controlled areas with civilian casualties, he added.