U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres appealed to the international community on Saturday to support the people of Syria and criticized Israel’s actions in the country’s south as he kicked off his first visit to the Arab nation as the U.N. chief, nearly two years after the fall of Syrian strongman Bashar Assad.
Guterres ‘ visit is also the first by a U.N. secretary-general to the Syrian capital, Damascus, since 2009.
Shortly after his arrival, Guterres held talks with Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, before touring the old quarter of Damascus and the famous Umayyad Mosque. The U.N. chief also visited the notorious Saydnaya military prison, a sprawling complex just north of Damascus that has become synonymous with some of the worst atrocities committed under the Assad family rule.
Guterres’ visit comes as Syria is trying to recover from the civil war that broke out in March 2011 and killed nearly half a million people, causing widespread destruction that will cost tens of billions of dollars to rebuild.
“I have just arrived in Damascus for a visit of solidarity,” Guterres posted on X at the start of his three-day visit. He added that the United Nations stands with Syria at this “pivotal moment.”
