NEW YORK CITY: The UN warned on Wednesday that Syria’s fragile recovery could be derailed by spillover from the widening military conflict in the region, and called for renewed efforts to insulate the country from the escalation.
The deputy special envoy for Syria, Claudio Cordone, said that incidents linked to Iranian missile and drone activity, including debris falling inside Syrian territory, had already caused civilian casualties, underscoring the urgent need to prevent further spillover.
“Let us redouble efforts to support Syria in shielding itself from this conflict,” he said, adding that prolonged regional tensions could undermine political, economic and institutional progress in a country just starting to recover after more than a decade of civil war.
He pointed to an increase in military activity affecting Syria, including Israeli air operations in Syrian airspace and cross-border violence involving the Lebanese group Hezbollah. The escalation has displaced about 140,000 people into Syria, most of them Syrian refugees who fled their country to escape fighting during the civil war and are now returning home to avoid the violence in neighboring Lebanon.
The UN also warned that the humanitarian situation remains precarious, with the military escalation in the region compounding already significant aid needs.
