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4h ago

UN Says Syria’s Transition Is on a Knife-Edge as Sweida Truce Strains and Aid Falls Short

UN officials say a funding shortfall is undermining efforts to stabilize the transition.

FILE - Morgue workers place the bodies of unidentified people killed during clashes between Bedouin clans and Druze militias, into plastic bags outside the National Hospital in Sweida, Syria, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Fahd Kiwan, File)
A Druze militiaman at a check point looks a smoke in the background following last week's sectarian clashes in the Druze-majority town of Sweida, Syria, Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Syrians gather to mark the anniversary of a chemical weapons attack carried out by Bashar Assad's forces in Eastern Ghouta in 2013, in the town of Zamalka on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
FILE - Bedouin fighters stand on a pickup truck as they arrive at al-Dour village on the outskirts of Sweida city, during clashes between the Bedouin clans and Druze militias, southern Syria, Friday, July 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed, File)

Overview

  • UN envoy Geir Pedersen warned that the July 19 Sweida ceasefire remains fragile, with dangerous skirmishes persisting and the risk of renewed fighting at any time.
  • UN and OCHA assessments this week reported roughly 190,000 people newly displaced across Sweida, Dar'a and Rural Damascus, with schools sheltering families and services under severe strain.
  • Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said 16 million Syrians need assistance, noted recent attacks on aid convoys, and flagged the 2025 appeal as only 14% funded with looming cuts.
  • The interim authorities formed a fact-finding committee on abuses in Sweida, and the UN urged full publication of its findings and accountability for perpetrators regardless of affiliation.
  • Tensions in the northeast have flared during efforts to implement the March 10 arrangement with the SDF, as international partners press for security-sector reform and DDR alongside targeted support such as new UK aid.