UN envoy warns of escalating regional war 'dragging Syria into even deeper conflict'

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Friday warned of the risk of a regional spillover and escalation, which he said is "dragging Syria into even deeper conflict."

Reiterating UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' "deep alarm" over the recent deadly pager explosions in Lebanon, Pedersen said the explosions also led to casualties in Syria "including children, and subsequent Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon and Hezbollah rocket fire into Israel."

"This week has seen a major escalation of regional tensions," Pedersen told the UN Security Council.

"There is a clear and present danger of a wider regional war that drags the Syrian people into its crosshairs," he said, noting that "violence remains very high" in the Syrian conflict.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, 37 people were killed and more than 3,250 others, including women and children, injured in a series of explosions involving wireless communication devices, including pagers and two-way radios. Beirut and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for the attacks.

Multiple media outlets reported that Israel placed small explosive charges inside imported pager devices before they reached Lebanon and then this week detonated them remotely.

Pedersen further urged for "de-escalation, now, across the region - including a cease-fire in Gaza."

"In Syria itself, we also need de-escalation in a nationwide calm and towards a nationwide ceasefire, as called for in Security Council resolution 2254," he added.

He stressed that "there are no short-cuts" for a "genuine progress towards a safe, calm, neutral environment" that is needed in Syria for "safe, dignified, voluntary refugee return."

"Without a credible process for a political solution, the downward spiral of trends on Syria will likely continue," Pedersen added.

Director of Coordination at the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Ramesh Rajasingham, said "over 16 million people across Syria remain in need of human and aid."

"No segment of the population is untouched by this crisis, and as is often the case in conflicts," he said, drawing attention to the conflict's impact on children.

Saying that children "account for almost half of those in need in Syria," Rajasingham stressed the "devastating" situation of the Syrian children particularly this month.

"As the school year resumes, we should remind ourselves that more than a third of school aged children - about 2.5 million - will not be rejoining their peers in the classroom this year," he said.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.