NEW YORK CITY: Members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday expressed dismay at the ongoing hostilities in northwestern Syria that in the past two months alone have caused the deaths of more than 90 civilians, including 35 children.
This, a cholera outbreak across all of the country’s governorates, and rising fuel prices that are forcing families “to choose between keeping warm or eating” have further increased the humanitarian needs in the war-ravaged country to the point where they have reached their highest-ever levels, according to the latest UN report.
As Syrians once again prepare for a bitterly cold winter, 6 million people need assistance to survive, a figure that has grown by 30 percent since last year.
Levels of severe food insecurity are “staggering,” according to UN Secretary- General Antonio Guterres, who said Syrians can now only afford one-sixth of the amount of food they could buy in 2019.
During a Security Council meeting to discuss the report on the latest developments in Syria, members also said they were “appalled” by the number of detainees in Syrian prisons who are “tortured and killed on a daily basis,” and by the number of enforced disappearances in the country.
They called on warring parties to stop politicizing the UN-facilitated Constitutional Committee and return to serious negotiations in line with Resolution 2254, which includes calls for the release of all those who have been arbitrarily detained, a nationwide ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian access to all areas and people in need, the voluntary return of refugees to their homes, and free elections in accordance with a new constitution.
Geir Pedersen, the secretary-general’s special envoy for Syria, lamented the fact that the political process so far has not “delivered for the Syrian people, and they continue to suffer not least from acute violence.”
He said that although a “strategic stalemate” persists across the country the conflict remains very active, with infighting between armed opposition groups, including Security Council-listed terrorist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham and Daesh, along with continuing pro-government airstrikes in Idlib and Azaz in the northwest, and violence in the northeast where there are frequent drone strikes and mutual shelling by the Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by Turkey, and armed opposition groups. In addition, Israeli strikes have hit targets in Syria, including at Damascus and Aleppo international airports.
This violence persists at a time when Syrians are enduring what Pedersen described as “the worst economic crisis since the war began.” He warned that “it will only get worse this winter for the vast majority.”
The envoy called for efforts to provide lifesaving assistance to be ramped up and urged all parties to grant humanitarian workers unfettered access to areas and people in need.
The issue of detainees also figured prominently in the secretary-general’s report, and Pedersen said the UN continues to receive reports of arbitrary arrests throughout Syria.
“Meanwhile, six months after the presidential amnesty decree, there is nothing new to report,” he added. “Despite our continued engagement, official information is not forthcoming, nor has independent monitoring been facilitated.
“On this, and more generally, families stress the concerns that arise from a lack of transparent communication and the vulnerabilities and lack of confidence that this gives rise to.”
Pedersen previously described engagement on issues of abductees, detainees and missing persons as important “confidence-building measures” that are essential for any serious return to diplomacy.
He has also discussed the efforts of his office to facilitate contacts between the parties to the Constitutional Committee — from the government, the opposition and civil society — with the aim of reconvening the committee in Geneva before the end of the year.
The Syrian government recently refused to take part in a new round of talks, apparently because Russia objected to Geneva as the choice of venue. Moscow has said the Swiss capital cannot be said to be an impartial actor. Switzerland has supported EU sanctions on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The UK and the US accuse Russia of stalling the work of the committee.
Notwithstanding the disagreements over the venue for the meetings, Pedersen observed that the real problem in reconvening the committee is a lack of progress on issues of substance.
During previous sessions of the Constitutional Committee, the members have not been able to engage in any meaningful discussions about their amendments to proposals on constitutional principles.
Pedersen said he is seeking to reconvene the committee’s co-chairs and elicit their political will to “engage in a spirit of compromise, with a faster pace, better working methods and more substance.”
US Ambassador Robert Wood, who is the alternative representative for special political affairs at the American mission to the UN, said his country supports the establishment of a standalone entity to address the issue of Syrian detainees and missing persons “with a humanitarian mandate focused entirely on clarifying the fate of all of Syria’s missing persons; people that have gone missing at the hands of the Assad regime, (Daesh) or other parties to the conflict.”
He added: “Confirming the whereabouts and status of the thousands of missing Syrians and releasing the arbitrarily detained are essential to achieving a stable, just and enduring peace in Syria. And we believe this new entity will be vital to this work.”
Syrians braced for their worst winter since the war began, UN says
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Syrians braced for their worst winter since the war began, UN says
- Latest report warns humanitarian needs are higher than ever due to cholera outbreak and rising fuel prices forcing people to choose between food or heat
- US ambassador calls for establishment of a new standalone entity to address issues of detainees and missing persons
Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role
- National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized for interfering in police matters
JERUSALEM, Nov 14 : Israel’s Attorney General told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reevaluate the tenure of his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing his apparent interference in police matters, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Thursday.
The news channel published a copy of a letter written by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in which she described instances of “illegitimate interventions” in which Ben-Gvir, who is tasked with setting general policy, gave operational instructions that threaten the police’s apolitical status.
“The concern is that the government’s silence will be interpreted as support for the minister’s behavior,” the letter said.
Officials at the Justice Ministry could not be reached for comment and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.
Ben-Gvir, who heads a small ultra-nationalist party in Netanyahu’s coalition, wrote on social media after the letter was published: “The attempted coup by (the Attorney General) has begun. The only dismissal that needs to happen is that of the Attorney General.”
Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem
- Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities
LONDON: Israeli forces demolished the office of the Palestinian Al-Bustan Association in occupied East Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Silwan, whose residents are under threat of Israeli eviction orders.
The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Culture condemned on Thursday the demolition of Al-Bustan by Israeli bulldozers and a military police force.
The ministry said that “(Israeli) occupation’s arrogant practices against cultural and community institutions in Palestine, and specifically in Jerusalem, are targeting the Palestinian identity, in an attempt to obliterate it.”
Founded in 2004, the Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities alongside hosting meetings for diplomatic delegations and Western journalists who came to learn about controversial Israeli policies in the area.
Al-Bustan said in a statement that it served 1,500 people in Silwan, most of them children, who enrolled in educational, cultural and artistic workshops. In addition to the Al-Bustan office, Israeli forces also demolished a home in the neighborhood belonging to the Al-Qadi family.
Located less than a mile from Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s southern ancient wall, Silwan has a population of 65,000 Palestinians, some of them under threat of Israeli eviction orders.
In past years, Israeli authorities have been carrying out archaeological digging under Palestinian homes in Silwan, resulting in damage to these buildings, in search of the three-millennial “City of David.”
Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters
- Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack
CAIRO: An Israeli strike killed 12 people after it hit a civil defense center in Lebanon’s city of Baalbek on Thursday, the regional governor told Reuters adding that rescue operations were ongoing.
Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack on the Lebanese city, health ministry reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lebanese civil defense official Samir Chakia said: “The Civil Defense Center in Baalbek has been targeted, five Civil Defense rescuers were killed.”
Bachir Khodr the regional governor said more than 20 rescuers had been at the facility at the time of the strike.
‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret
- Workers complete reconstruction of 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque
- Tower and mosque were blown by Daesh extremists in 2017
High above the narrow streets and low-rise buildings of Mosul’s old city, beaming workers hoist an Iraqi flag into the sky atop one of the nation’s most famous symbols of resilience.
Perched precariously on scaffolding in high-vis jackets and hard hats, the workers celebrate a milestone in Iraq’s recovery from the traumatic destruction and bloodshed that once engulfed the city.
On Wednesday, the workers placed the last brick that marked the completed reconstruction of the 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque. The landmark was destroyed by Daesh in June 2017 shortly before Iraqi forces drove the extremist group from the city.
Known as Al-Hadba, or “the hunchback,” the 45-meter-tall minaret, which famously leant to one side, dominated the Mosul skyline for centuries. The tower has been painstakingly rebuilt as part of a UNESCO project, matching the traditional stone and brick masonry and incorporating the famous lean.
“Today UNESCO celebrates a landmark achievement,” the UN cultural agency’s Iraq office said. “The completion of the shaft of the Al-Hadba Minaret marks a new milestone in the revival of the city, with and for the people of Mosul.
“UNESCO is grateful for the incredible teamwork that made this vision a reality. Together, we’ve created a powerful symbol of resilience, a true testament to international cooperation. Thank you to everyone involved in this journey.”
The restoration of the mosque is part of UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, which includes the rebuilding of two churches and other historic sites. The UAE donated $50 million to the project and UNESCO said that the overall Al-Nuri Mosque complex restoration will be finished by the end of the year.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay celebrated the completion of the minaret by posting “We did it!” on social media site X.
She thanked donors, national and local authorities in Iraq and the experts and professionals, “many of whom are Moslawis,” who worked to rebuild the minaret.
“Can’t wait to return to Mosul to celebrate the full completion of our work,” she said.
The Al-Nuri mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Seljuk ruler Nur Al-Din.
After Daesh seized control of large parts of Iraq in 2014, the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of its so-called caliphate from inside the mosque.
Three years later, the extremists detonated explosives to destroy the mosque and minaret as Iraqi forces battled to expel them from the city. Thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting and much of Mosul was left in ruins.
US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources
- The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Hezbollah
BEIRUT: The US ambassador to Lebanon submitted a draft truce proposal to Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri on Thursday to halt fighting between armed group Hezbollah and Israel, two political sources told Reuters, without revealing details.
The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but efforts have yet to yield a result. Israel launched a stepped-up air and ground campaign in late September after cross-border clashes in parallel with the Gaza war.