UNSC delegation visits Syria on first trip a year after al-Assad's fall

"A United Nations Security Council (UNSC) delegation has arrived in Syria for its first-ever trip to the country, reported state media, just days before the war-ravaged nation marks the first anniversary of the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. The UNSC delegation arrived via the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing between Lebanon and Syria and is scheduled to meet a number of Syrian officials and members of civil society, state news agency SANA reported on Thursday."

"While the UN works to re-establish itself in Syria, the council recently lifted sanctions against al-Sharaa, a former rebel fighter whose forces led the lightning offensive that ousted Bashar al-Assad last December. The UN has urged an inclusive transition in the multiethnic country. With international legitimacy one of al-Sharaa's main priorities, the government has been seeking to keep a lid on eruptions of sectarian violence. Last month, the killing of a Bedouin couple just south of the country's third largest city, Homs, threatened to spark sectarian clashes like the ones reported in coastal areas in March and again in Suwayda in July."

"However, security forces from the ministries of interior and defence deployed to the area and, in tandem with some tribal leaders, calmed the situation. The nation ravaged by 14 years of ruinous civil war has also had to contend with more brazen, frequent and violent Israeli military incursions since it expanded its occupation of southern Syria over the past year, despite assertions by al-Sharaa's government that it is not looking to engage in hostilities with Israel."

A UN Security Council delegation made its first-ever trip to Syria, arriving via the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing and visiting Damascus's damaged suburb of Jobar. The diplomats will meet Syria's new authorities, including President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and members of civil society before visiting neighbouring Lebanon. The council recently lifted sanctions against al-Sharaa, whose forces led the offensive that ousted Bashar al-Assad. The UN has called for an inclusive transition in the multiethnic country while authorities work to contain sectarian violence and respond to increased Israeli military incursions in southern Syria.

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