UN envoy to Syria warns that “wider regional war” would drag Syrian people into it

September 21 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The United Nations special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, warned on Friday that the escalation of tensions in the Middle East is leading to “a deeper conflict” in Syria, a country that has been embroiled in a civil conflict — which has later also involved external forces — since 2011.

“There is a clear and present danger of a wider regional war that draws the Syrian people into its crosshairs… The most urgent need of the moment is a region-wide de-escalation, including a ceasefire in Gaza,” Pedersen said, noting that “Syria remains mired in a deep state of conflict and territorial division.”

In a context of “military and territorial divisions” in which “society is fragmented”, the existence of “a regional crisis that is in perpetual danger of breaking out in Syria” makes the “terrible situation” in the country even more complex, the UN envoy added.

As things stand, he stressed, “it is unrealistic to think that stability can be achieved” in Syria without “a comprehensive process facilitated by the UN, since “the causes of the conflict continue, the grievances are real and long-standing and there continue to be very different visions of post-conflict Syria.”

“We, as the United Nations, are among the few who can engage directly with Syrians on all sides of this conflict, not only with political actors but also with civil society, including women, whom we bring to Geneva from all corners of the country and from the diaspora,” Pedersen stressed.

In this regard, the organization has specified that the purpose of this political process sponsored by the UN would be to “advance on three critical fronts,” including measures to “revitalize the stagnant Constitutional Committee, generate confidence and forge a new comprehensive approach that balances the interests of all.”

The statements come at a time of heightened tensions between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Lebanese Shiite militia party Hezbollah, an ally of Bashar al-Assad’s government, following widespread explosions of wireless devices in Lebanon and Syria.