UN Secretary General Affirms Israeli Airstrikes Violate Syrian Sovereignty And Integrity

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. (Wikimedia Commons/IAEA Imagebank)

JAKARTA - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has firmly asked Israel to stop its airstrikes against Syria, which is considered a violation of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Israel is known to have carried out airstrikes on a number of positions in Syria, claiming to be targeting strategic weapons and military infrastructure, as the government of President Bashar al-Assad falls on December 8.

"The sovereignty, territorial unity, and integrity of Syria must be fully restored, and all acts of aggression must end immediately," Secretary General Guterres told reporters.

In addition to airstrikes, Israeli forces were also transferred to the demilitarized zone between Syria and Israel's occupied Golan Heights - which was created after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war - which was patroled by UN peacekeeping forces.

Israeli officials themselves described the move as a limited and temporary measure to ensure the security of the Israeli border, but gave no indication of when troops would be withdrawn.

"I emphasize: No military forces in the separation area other than the UN peacekeeping force point. Israel and Syria must uphold the provisions of the 1974 Troops Release Agreement, which is still in full force," said Secretary General Guterres.

He explained that the United Nations focused on facilitating an "inclusive, credible and peaceful" political transition in Syria and channeling aid to combat one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.

"This is a defining moment of moments of hope and history, but also a moment of great uncertainty," he said.

He said some players might try to take advantage of the situation for their own interests.

"However, it is the obligation of the international community to stand with the Syrian people who have suffered greatly. The future of Syria must be formed by its people, for its people, with the support of all of us," he said.

Guterres also appointed Mexican lawyer Karla Quintana to head the Independent Institution for Missing Persons in Syria and said his team should be allowed to fully carry out their mandate.

The UN General Assembly formed the agency in 2023 to find out what happened to missing persons and to provide support to their victims, survivors, and families.

Separately, the International Commission for Missing Persons in The Hague said it had received data showing there may be as many as 66 mass grave locations that have not been verified in Syria.

More than 150,000 people are considered missing, according to international and Syrian organizations, including the United Nations and the Syrian Human Rights Network, he said.

Assad's crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protesters in 2011 led to civil war. Millions fled Syria while millions more fled domestically.