UN warns of risk of renewed fighting in Syria

The UN envoy for Syria warned Wednesday of the risk of renewed conflict amid attacks on minorities as the country tries to rebuild from decades of dictatorship under Bashar al-Assad.

The United States this week went so far as to warn Syria could be just weeks away from another civil war and the country's collapse and breakup.

The US warning came after a series of deadly attacks on the Alawite and Druze minorities in Syria, where Islamist-led fighters in December toppled then-president Assad, capping a brutal civil war that began in 2011.

The UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, addressed the UN Security Council Wednesday from Damascus.

"The challenges facing Syria are enormous, and the real dangers of renewed conflict and deeper fragmentation have not yet been overcome," he said.

"I remain concerned about the potential for new violence, and at the undermining of trust that such developments inevitably bring about," he added.

He alluded to attacks in March against the Alawite community, which is associated with the Assad clan, and violence against Druze people in April amid what Pedersen called high sectarian tensions.

Despite all the danger, Pedersen welcomed news that the United States lifted Assad-era sanctions against Syria and the European Union's decision to lift economic sanctions against the country.

Pedersen said these moves gave hope for the success of Syria's transition.

Assad was ousted December 8, 2024 in the culmination of a lighting offensive by a rebel coalition led by Islamists who now hold power in Damascus.

Pedersen also condemned Israeli air strikes against Syria as unacceptable.

And he voiced concern about a rise in Islamic State group attacks in several parts of Syria, saying there were signs of more coordinated operations involving improvised explosive devices and medium-range weapons.