ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - United Nations Special Envoy for Syria is urging “major course corrections” in Damascus’s political transition and security strategy following the recent outbreak of sectarian and intercommunal violence. Geir Pedersen also highlighted growing frustration in both Damascus and northeast Syria (Rojava) over delays in implementing a landmark agreement aimed at integrating civil and military institutions in the Kurdish-led region.
Speaking at a UN Security Council session on Monday, Pedersen warned that “Syria’s transition has been rocked this past month by violence and escalation that led to mass casualties, drained trust, and created more dangers of fragmentation.”
The UN envoy was referring to the deadly clashes that erupted on July 13 in Syria’s southern Druze-majority Suwayda province.
According to the envoy, the violence began with "mutual kidnappings" between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes, quickly escalating into armed conflict. Government security forces deployed to de-escalate the situation were reportedly “attacked” by Druze groups, while Pedersen also noted “extremely grave reports of serious violations by security forces against Druze civilians.”
Documented abuses included “extrajudicial executions, degrading treatment, desecration of corpses, looting, and destruction of property.” Pedersen reported “hundreds of casualties and injuries among security forces, Druze fighters, and most tragically, civilians,” and that Israeli airstrikes further complicated the situation, causing additional civilian and military casualties.
Of note, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported a death toll of 1,120 by July 20 from the Suwayda violence.
A fragile ceasefire is currently in place, but “the situation remains tense and volatile,” with approximately 175,000 people displaced, the UN official said.
Sectarian abductions
Critically, Pedersen expressed alarm over “reports of abductions of Druze women” following the deployment of security forces, and drew parallels with earlier incidents involving Alawite women in western Syria.
In early March, violence broke out in the Alawite-majority coastal regions after loyalists of ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad attacked security forces aligned with Syria’s interim leadership. SOHR then-reported about 1,700 deaths - mostly Alawite civilians - with many casualties attributed to government or pro-government forces.
In response, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in early March ordered the creation of an “independent national committee” to investigate the violence.
The committee's report, released last week, confirmed 1,426 deaths and identified 298 suspects involved in the abuses, including six former Assad regime operatives. However, the Supreme Alawite Council rejected the findings as an “impudent play” and called for a UN-supervised investigation instead.
Pedersen on Monday urged Damascus to publish the committee’s report to “ensure justice for victims and accountability for all perpetrators,” adding that “major course corrections on security and the political transition are needed” while stressing that “a fragmented security architecture, filled with militias and lacking clear command, cannot sustain peace.”
Decentralization vs. centralization
Pedersen also voiced concern over the slow pace and lack of inclusivity in Syria’s political transition, warning that fears around “centralized power, limited transparency, and weak checks and balances” could further erode trust in the process. He emphasized that the new legislature, expected to be formed in September, must include “all major Syrian groups and components.”
A key element of that transition is the early March agreement signed between interim President Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi to integrate all civil and military institutions in northeast Syria (Rojava) under the administration of the Syrian state.
While negotiations are ongoing, senior officials from the Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) last week told Rudaw that differing interpretations of the term "integration" remain a major hurdle. Rojava advocates for mutual recognition and a decentralized, democratic Syria that guarantees regional autonomy, while Damascus favors a more centralized system.
For his part, Pedersen acknowledged the ongoing "difficulties" in implementing the Abdi-Sharaa agreement, urging both sides to make compromises and "build trust and confidence" to achieve their shared goal of implementing the agreement by year-end. He also noted preparations are underway for a high-level meeting in Paris aimed at advancing the talks.
Of note, SDF chief Abdi on Tuesday stated that communication channels with the Syrian government are open daily, expressing approval of "the unity of Syria with one army and one flag" and the centralization of some sovereign institutions in Damascus. Speaking to the state-owned Saudi al-Arabiya channel he emphasized that the SDF aims to "become part of a new Syrian army" through a political solution that guarantees their constitutional rights.
In a statement on X, US Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack was quick to praise Abdi’s leadership as “pivotal to a stable Syria of ‘one army, one government, one state,’” and described the dialogue between the SDF and Damascus as “constructive.”
