|
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 19-- Geir Pedersen, UN special envoy for Syria, said Wednesday that realizing the dream of the Syrian people for peace has a long way to go, while once again calling on all warring parties to cease fire immediately in the country. "Since my briefing two weeks ago, I cannot report any progress in ending the current violence in the northwest or in reconvening the political process," Pedersen started his briefing at the Security Council on a pessimistic note. "As the secretary-general has stressed, we are alarmed by the rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation in northwest Syria and the tragic suffering of civilians. The ongoing offensive has displaced almost 900,000 civilians since Dec. 1, 2019, often multiple times. Hundreds have been killed during the same period," said the envoy. Hostilities are now "approaching densely populated areas." People are on the move "in freezing temperatures" in search of safety. More than four of every five of the newly displaced civilians are "women and children." Young children are "dying from the cold." The potential for further mass displacement and even more catastrophic human suffering "is apparent," as an increasing number of people are hemmed into an ever-shrinking space, said the envoy while elaborating on the deteriorating situation in the country. "HTS (the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front) and other proscribed terrorist groups remain a major presence inside Idlib," he said. | 
