UNITED NATIONS, Jul 18 (APP): The United Nations human rights office, OHCHR, called on Friday for Syria’s interim authorities to ensure accountability and justice for killings and rights violations in the southern city of Sweida.
The Syrian government sent troops this week to the predominantly Druze city to quell fighting between Bedouins and Druze, but the violence grew until a ceasefire was declared.
At an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Thursday afternoon, Pakistan welcomed the ceasefire brokered by US, Turkiye and Arab countries for maintenance of internal security in Sweida, while taking note of the statements by the Syrian authorities to effectively address the situation and to ensure the safety and security of all Syrians.
“Pakistan condemns the recent Israeli airstrikes on Suweida, Daraa, and in the center of Damascus, as well as the reported redeployment of Israeli forces in the occupied Syrian Golan,” Pakistani Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told the 15-member Council, while expressing solidarity with Syria.
“These acts represent a grave and deliberate escalation, and are a flagrant violation of international law, the UN Charter, relevant Security Council resolutions and Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Pointing out that these Israeli attacks come at a time when Syria is navigating a delicate yet meaningful transition, the Pakistan envoy said, “After more than a decade of conflict, the Syrian people are beginning to nurture a sense of renewed hope, hope for peace, for dignity, and for the reconstruction of their country.”
Briefing reporters in Geneva on Friday, OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani highlighted “credible” reports of “widespread violations and abuses, including summary executions and arbitrary killings, kidnappings, destruction of private property and looting of homes” in the city of Sweida.
“Among the reported perpetrators were members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the interim authorities, as well as other armed elements from the area, including the Druze and Bedouin,” she said.
Many hospitals are struggling to cope with the influx of injured, the UN refugee agency UNHCR also noted.
On Friday morning, OHCHR colleagues reported that clashes were continuing and that “a lot of people are trying to flee or have fled the area”, Ms. Shamdasani continued.
Latest updates from the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office, OCHA, on Thursday indicated that nearly 2,000 families had been displaced from areas affected by the fighting.
Hundreds have reportedly been killed since sectarian violence involving the Druze and Bedouin communities erupted on 12 July, triggering an intervention by Syrian security forces.
OHCHR’s Ms. Shamdasani highlighted an incident on 15 July in which at least 13 people were killed when “armed individuals affiliated with the interim authorities deliberately opened fire at a family gathering”.
Briefing an emergency meeting of the Security Council in New York on Thursday, UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari also referenced reports of “civilians, religious figures and detainees being subjected to extrajudicial executions and humiliating and degrading treatment”. He urged all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Ms. Shamdasani stressed that the UN human rights office has been trying to verify the information through “contacts on the ground…families of people who were killed, eyewitnesses”, but that obtaining reliable estimates of the death toll remains challenging.
“There are lots of videos circulating,” she said. “Some claim to be fighters who are in the area filming the abuses and violations they’re carrying out. We are trying to verify some of these videos, but there’s a lot of disinformation out there and a lot of it is being used to incite further violence to inflame tensions.”
The OHCHR spokesperson also expressed concern about reports of civilian casualties resulting from Israel’s airstrikes on Sweida, Dara’a and central Damascus.
“Attacks such as the one on Damascus on Wednesday pose great risks to civilians and civilian objects,” she warned, calling for the strikes to cease.
Israel claims it had launched the strikes pledging to protect the Druze community.
The violence and displacement have sparked “considerable” humanitarian needs, with the health and aid systems struggling to keep up, said William Spindler of the UN refugee agency UNCHR.
“Many of the hospitals have been overwhelmed by the number of people who have been injured in the recent fighting,” he said.
According to OCHA, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has dispatched enough trauma and emergency surgery kits for 1,750 interventions to the area, but many “remain undelivered due to access constraints”.
Since the displaced had to flee at very short notice, they are in desperate need of essentials – blankets, jerry cans, solar lamps – but providing these items has been a challenge.
“We have this in stock and we are ready to deliver them as soon as the security allows it,” Mr. Spindler said. “For now, this has not been possible.”
Spindler also warned of water shortages due to electricity outages. He said that people are unable to buy bottled water or food because of the insecurity.
UNHCR has an office in rural Sweida and Mr. Spindler expressed concern about the impact of the hostilities on the agency’s operations, infrastructure and personnel.
“We know that humanitarian infrastructure has been affected,” he said, describing an incident on 15 July in which a warehouse of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent was severely damaged by shelling.
The UNHCR spokesperson called on all parties to the conflict to respect and protect humanitarian premises, personnel and assets “in accordance with international humanitarian law”.
In his remarks at Thursday’s Security Council meeting, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, also called for the immediate cessation of all violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and urges full respect for the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement as well as all relevant Council resolutions.
Israel’s continued violations exemplify impunity, he said, arguing that the international community’s failure to hold Israel accountable has emboldened such violations, thus undermining the international order based on UN Charter and principles of international law.
“Whether in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran or Yemen, Israel continues to act outside the bounds of international law, with complete disregard for the principle of state sovereignty, non-intervention, and the prohibition on the use of force enshrined in Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter. This impunity must end,” the Pakistan envoy said.
While the consolidation of security remains an ongoing and challenging task, Syrian authorities have demonstrated willingness, both domestically and in their regional and international outreach, to pursue stability and reconciliation, he said.
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar said that there have been clear signals and publicly expressed intentions by the Syrian leadership to pursue peaceful relations with the wider region. Against this backdrop, he said that Israel’s reckless attacks on Syrian state institutions are both counterproductive and irrational.
He said that the current moment in Syria needs solidarity and support, not aggression and sabotage. “Fostering internal cohesion, harmony, and inclusion—by embracing Syria’s rich diversity—which paves the way for advancing genuine reconciliation and ensuring lasting stability across the country, in line with key principles under resolution 2254.”
“Israel’s actions are not only unlawful, but ultimately self-defeating, as they breed the very instability they claim to resist,” he told the Council members.
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar said that Syria needs space, support for reform and recovery and urged the international community to come together to preserve regional stability and advance the prospect of a just and lasting peace.
“At this critical moment, Pakistan stands in full solidarity with the brotherly people of Syria.”