Media Home
UN Web TV
UN PhotoSecurity Council
8345th Security Council Meeting: Situation in Middle East
The Syrian Government and its partners — currently poised at the brink of a massive military strike against the north‑west province of Idlib — must urgently rethink its strategy, the Security Council heard today, as delegates sounded the alarm about such repercussions as mass civilian casualties and the flood of up to 700,000 refugees into neighbouring countries, Europe and beyond.
Staffan de Mistura, Special Envoy for Syria, briefing the Council via videoconference from Geneva, underscored that the last few days have seen the ingredients for a “perfect storm” taking shape with potentially severe humanitarian consequences. Some 2.9 million people — more than 98 per cent of whom are civilians — reside in the Idlib area, he said, noting that while members of terrorist groups and non‑terrorist armed factions are also present, they are relatively few in number. Describing vigils being held by civilians in the area, he said they have pleaded with the United Nations and the Astana guarantor States — Iran, Turkey and the Russian Federation — to reach a non‑military solution.
“The dangers are profound that any battle for Idlib would be […] horrific and bloody,” he continued, calling on any parties with leverage over non‑terrorist armed opposition factions in Idlib to ensure that they separate from such groups as Nusrah Front and put civilian lives first. One alternative entails armed groups being given a deadline to exit Idlib’s most populated areas — rendering them safe for civilians and sparing lives — he said, expressing hope that other, similarly concrete suggestions will emerge from the ongoing talks between Iran, Turkey and the Russian Federation. “Any proposals to avoid this becoming the biggest humanitarian crisis, at the end of the most horrible recent crisis in our memory, must be given a chance,” he stressed.
John Ging, Director of the Coordination and Response Division of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said more than 2 million people in Idlib need humanitarian assistance. Outlining efforts under way to ensure humanitarian support for civilians in the event of increased hostilities, he described a response plan to assist up to 900,000 people — including up to 700,000 who may be displaced. All parties to the conflict must urgently cease hostilities in the area, he stressed, also demanding that they protect civilians, civilian infrastructure and humanitarian and medical personnel while allowing allow safe, rapid, unhindered and sustained access to those in need.
Council members taking the floor largely stood united in demanding that actors in and around Idlib avoid any form of military escalation. France’s delegate, describing the situation as a “ticking time bomb”, said the civilians in Idlib — many of whom have been moved from other parts of the country — have nowhere else to go. The military operation, should it occur, could spawn another crisis in the north of Syria and possibly spread to Europe and the rest of the world, including by causing the proliferation of jihadist groups. Calling on all parties to act with restraint, he also condemned any plans to use chemical weapons. “There is still time to avoid a crisis in Idlib, but we have not a minute to lose,” he said.
Kuwait’s delegate, also speaking for Sweden, emphasized the need to respect Security Council resolutions, including resolution 2401 (2018) which called for “humanitarian pauses” and demanded the protection of civilians. “Resolutions that are not implemented on the ground have no value,” he stressed, underlining the need for accountability. The Council has a humanitarian, moral and legal responsibility to the population of Idlib, and must seek preventive action.
The representative of the United States, Council President for September, said in her national capacity that Syrian President Bashar Al‑Assad’s regime and its enablers — the Russian Federation and Iran — have a playbook for the war in Syria, which includes labelling all the residents of a city “terrorists” and then perpetrating a “starve and surrender” campaign against them. “The atrocities committed by Assad will be a permanent stain on history and a black mark on this Council”, which has been repeatedly prevented from acting. The United States will not consider funding reconstruction projects in Syria until concrete progress is made towards a political solution ending the war, she said, declaring: “No one else should, either.”
The representative of the Russian Federation, however, said freezing the situation in Idlib — part of the sovereign Syrian State — is not possible given the fact that up to 50,000 terrorist fighters are currently located there. Asking the Council how those fighters obtained their weapons, he described intense negotiations currently under way between his country and its Astana partners, all while Western countries are preparing aggressive plans to prevent the last terrorist‑held area from falling.
Syria’s representative emphasized that it remains his country’s sovereign right to carry out operations against the 50,000 terrorist fighters in Idlib. Such a huge number would never be tolerated in a Western city, he stressed, asking Council members to envision 50,000 terrorist fighters spread across the United Kingdom’s city of Manchester. The United States, which holds the Council Presidency for September, has already forced several discussions on domestic matters that pose no threat to international peace and security — including, today, in his country — he said, emphasizing that the main drivers of terrorism are in fact three Council members who continue to fund the spread of Wahabi ideology across the Middle East.
Also speaking today were representatives of Equatorial Guinea, Poland, Peru, Côte d’Ivoire, China, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and Sweden.
The meeting began at 9:35 a.m. and ended at noon.
