The UN envoy to Syria warned the country’s caretaker government Wednesday against making mistakes that would imperil the political transition underway after decades of dictatorship under fallen strongman Bashar al-Assad.
The envoy also said Israeli attacks on Syria after last month’s ouster of Assad endanger Syria’s territorial integrity.
“Decisions taken now will determine the future for a long time to come. There are great opportunities and real dangers,” envoy Geir Pedersen said during a Security Council meeting.
He said Syria and the international community need to “get the next phase right.”
Rebel forces led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, listed in the West as a terrorist group, toppled Assad on 8 December in the culmination of a lightning offensive after years of stalemate in more than a decade of civil war.
As he seeks to unify the shattered country, Syria’s new de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has vowed to dissolve armed groups, including HTS.
He also said it could take up to four years to hold elections and that he wants to convene a national dialogue conference to map out the transition.
And to prepare for this dialogue, the new leader wants to set up a committee that reflects the varied sectors of Syrian society.
Pedersen welcomed word of this preparatory committee and said the process must not be rushed.
He said there are “tremendous opportunities for building a foundation for lasting peace and stability in Syria. But missteps or missed opportunities could pose risks to Syria’s future and plant seeds of instability.”
He also expressed concern over Israeli military action in the Golan Heights and beyond.
“Attacks on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must stop,” Pedersen said, citing reports that Israeli forces are attacking civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure.
“Such violations, along with Israeli airstrikes in other parts of Syria, reported even just last week in Aleppo, could further jeopardize the prospects for an orderly political transition,” the envoy said.
Meanwhile, the UN head of humanitarian issues, Tom Fletcher, said nearly 13 million people in Syria suffer from acute food insecurity.
And as winter sets in, more than 620,000 of the million-plus people who fled their homes as the rebels advanced late last year remain displaced, Fletcher said.
This is in addition to seven million who were already displaced because of the civil war in Syria, the official said.
