UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council will visit Syria and Lebanon next week, the Slovenian mission said Tuesday, as it looks to chair the council starting in December.
The ambassadors for 15 member states are set to visit Damascus on December 4, a few days before the first anniversary of the ouster of Syria’s longtime ruler Bashar Assad.
The diplomats are expected to meet new authorities there, including President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the mission told reporters.
As the United Nations works to reestablish itself in Syria, the Security Council recently lifted sanctions against Al-Sharaa, a former jihadist, calling oh him to effect an inclusive transition.
Security Council officials will then travel to Beirut on December 5, where they will meet peacekeepers with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is set to leave the country by the end of 2027 after serving as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel since 1978.
The visit comes as Lebanon has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024 — which sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah — by continuing its strikes and maintaining forces inside its territory.
UN Security Council to visit Syria, Lebanon next week
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UN Security Council to visit Syria, Lebanon next week
- The ambassadors for 15 member states are set to visit Damascus on December 4
- Security Council officials will then travel to Beirut on December 5
Syrian Democratic Forces withdraws from east of Aleppo
RIYADH: Syrian Democratic Forces have withdrawn from positions east of Aleppo, according to SDF head Mazloum Abdi.
He announced Friday that SDF will withdraw from east of Aleppo at 7 a.m. local time on Saturday and redeploy them to areas east of the Euphrates, citing calls from friendly countries and mediators.
Hours earlier, a US military designation had visited Deir Hafer and met with SDF officials in an apparent attempt to tamp down tensions.
The US has good relations with both sides and has urged calm. A spokesperson for the US military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shortly before Abdi’s announcement, interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa had announced issuance of a decree strengthening Kurdish rights.
A wave of displacement
Earlier in the day, hundreds of people carrying their belongings arrived in government-held areas in northern Syria ahead of the anticipated offensive by Syrian troops on territory held by Kurdish-led fighters.
Many of the civilians who fled were seen using side roads to reach government-held areas because the main highway was blocked at a checkpoint in the town of Deir Hafer controlled by the SDF.
The Syrian army said late Wednesday that civilians would be able to evacuate through the “humanitarian corridor” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and then extended the evacuation period another day, saying the SDF had stopped civilians from leaving.
There had been limited exchanges of fire between the two sides in the area before that.
Men, women and children arrived on the government side of the line in cars and pickup trucks that were packed with bags of clothes, mattresses and other belongings. They were met by local officials who directed them to shelters.
* with input from Reuters, AP
