NEW YORK CITY: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for urgent action to secure the future of Syria, as the country marks the 14th anniversary of the start of its devastating civil war.
He condemned the immense human suffering caused by the conflict, which included the use of chemical weapons, barrel bombings, and prolonged sieges that turned food and medicine into weapons of war.
The civil war, which began in mid-March 2011, became one of the most devastating conflicts in modern history, as peaceful protests against the regime of President Bashar Assad quickly escalated into a brutal war involving multiple factions and foreign powers.
More than 500,000 people were killed, and over 13 million Syrians were displaced, about 6.7 million of whom sought refuge in neighboring countries and beyond. The war caused widespread destruction, leaving cities in ruins, and severe humanitarian crises, including shortages of food, water and medical care.
“The Syrian people have endured unimaginable hardship,” Guterres said, highlighting in particular the indiscriminate killing of civilians and the destruction of hospitals, schools and homes. Despite the devastation, he added, the calls of the Syrian people for freedom and dignity have remained “steadfast.”
On Dec. 8 last year the Assad regime collapsed in the face of a major offensive by opposition forces, spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham. Since then, there has been a glimmer of hope for rebuilding and reconciliation, said Guterres.
However, he warned that “this much-deserved brighter future hangs in the balance.” All violence must end, he said, and he called for a credible, independent investigation into ongoing civilian deaths.
Entire families have been killed in the country’s coastal region in a recent series of sectarian attacks among rival groups, according to the UN. The violence broke out last Thursday when armed groups loyal to the ousted former president, Bashar Assad, ambushed security forces in the province of Latakia, killing at least 16 of them, the Syrian Ministry of Defense said.
“The caretaker authorities have repeatedly committed to building a new Syria, based on inclusive and credible foundations for all Syrians,” said Guterres.
“Now is the time for action. Bold and decisive measures are urgently needed to ensure that every Syrian — regardless of ethnicity, religion, political affiliation or gender — can live in safety, dignity and without fear.”
He also reaffirmed the readiness of the UN “to work alongside the Syrian people and support an inclusive political transition that ensures accountability, fosters national healing, and lays the foundation for Syria’s long-term recovery and reintegration into the international community.”
Guterres added: “Together, we must ensure that Syria emerges from the shadows of war into a future defined by dignity and the rule of law, where all voices are heard, and no community is left behind.”
He urged the international community to stand with the Syrian people as they work to achieve this more peaceful and inclusive future.
On 14th anniversary of Syrian civil war, UN chief warns nation’s future hangs in the balance
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On 14th anniversary of Syrian civil war, UN chief warns nation’s future hangs in the balance
- Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemns immense human suffering caused by a conflict in which chemical weapons were used, and food and medicine were weaponized
- ‘The Syrian people have endured unimaginable hardship,’ he says, but despite the devastation they remained ‘steadfast’ in their calls for freedom and dignity
Gaza’s living conditions worsen as strong winds and hypothermia kill 5
- Hundreds of tents and makeshift shelters were blown away or heavily damaged, the UN humanitarian office reported
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Strong winter winds collapsed walls onto flimsy tents for Palestinians displaced by war in Gaza, killing at least four people, hospital authorities said Tuesday.
Dangerous living conditions persist in Gaza after more than two years of devastating Israeli bombardment and aid shortfalls. A ceasefire has been in effect since Oct. 10. But aid groups say that Palestinians broadly lack the shelter necessary to withstand frequent winter storms.
The dead include two women, a girl and a man, according to Shifa Hospital, Gaza City’s largest, which received the bodies.
The Gaza Health Ministry said Tuesday a 1-year-old boy died of hypothermia overnight, while the spokesman for the UN’s children agency said over 100 children and teenagers have been killed by “military means” since the ceasefire began.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said it exchanged fire Tuesday with six people spotted near its troops deployed in southern Gaza, killing at least two of them in western Rafah.
Family mourns relatives killed by wall collapse
Three members of the same family — 72-year-old Mohamed Hamouda, his 15-year-old granddaughter and his daughter-in-law — were killed when an 8-meter (26-foot) high wall collapsed onto their tent in a coastal area along the Mediterranean shore of Gaza City, Shifa Hospital said. At least five others were injured.
Their relatives on Tuesday began removing the rubble that had buried their loved ones and rebuilding the tent shelters for survivors.
“The world has allowed us to witness death in all its forms,” Bassel Hamouda said after the funeral. “It’s true the bombing may have temporarily stopped, but we have witnessed every conceivable cause of death in the world in the Gaza Strip.”
A second woman was killed when a wall fell on her tent in the western part of the city, Shifa Hospital said.
Hundreds of tents and makeshift shelters were blown away or heavily damaged, the UN humanitarian office reported.
The UN and its humanitarian partners were distributing tents, tarps, blankets and clothes as well as nutrition and hygiene items across Gaza, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The majority of Palestinians live in makeshift tents since their homes were reduced to rubble during the war. When storms strike the territory, Palestinian rescue workers warn people against seeking shelter inside damaged buildings for fears of collapse. Aid groups say not enough shelter materials are entering Gaza during the truce.
In the central town of Zawaida, Associated Press footage showed inundated tents Tuesday morning, with people trying to rebuild their shelters.
Yasmin Shalha, a displaced woman from the northern town of Beit Lahiya, stood against winds that lifted the tarps of tents around her as she stitched hers back together with needle and thread. She said it had fallen on top of her family the night before, as they slept.
“The winds were very, very strong. The tent collapsed over us,” the mother of five told AP. “As you can see, our situation is dire.”
On the shore in southern Gaza, tents were swept into the Mediterranean. Families pulled what was left from the sea, while some built sand barriers to hold back rising water.
“The sea took our mattresses, our tents, our food and everything we owned,” Shaban Abu Ishaq said, as he dragged part of his tent out of the sea in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis.
Mohamed Al-Sawalha, a 72-year-old man from the northern refugee camp of Jabaliya, said the conditions most Palestinians in Gaza endure are barely livable.
“It doesn’t work neither in summer nor in winter,” he said of the tent. “We left behind houses and buildings (with) doors that could be opened and closed. Now we live in a tent. Even sheep don’t live like we do.”
Residents aren’t able to return to their homes in Israeli-controlled areas of the Gaza Strip.
Child death toll in Gaza rises
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the 1-year-old in the central town of Deir Al-Balah was the seventh fatality due to the cold conditions since winter started. Others included a baby just seven days old and a 4-year-old girl, whose deaths were announced Monday.
The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, says more than 440 people were killed by Israeli fire and their bodies brought to hospitals since the ceasefire went into effect. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts.
UNICEF spokesman James Elder said Tuesday at least 100 children under the age of 18 — 60 boys and 40 girls — have been killed since the truce began due to military operations, including drone strikes, airstrikes, tank shelling and use of live ammunition. Those figures, he said, reflect incidents where enough details have been compiled to warrant recording, but the total toll is expected to be higher. He said hundreds of children have been wounded.
While “bombings and shootings have slowed” during the ceasefire, they have not stopped, Elder told reporters at a UN briefing in Geneva by video from Gaza City. “So what the world now calls calm would be considered a crisis anywhere else,” he said.
Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people has been struggling to keep the cold weather and storms at bay while facing shortages of humanitarian aid and a lack of more substantial temporary housing, which is badly needed during the winter months. It’s the third winter since the war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants stormed into southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others into Gaza.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 71,400 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive.
