Pedersen Disappointed with ‘Strategic Stalemate’ in Syria’s Political Process

UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen. (Reuters)
UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen. (Reuters)
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Pedersen Disappointed with ‘Strategic Stalemate’ in Syria’s Political Process

UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen. (Reuters)
UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen. (Reuters)

The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, briefed on Wednesday the Security Council on the latest developments in Syria and his diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.

“Syrians see no concrete progress towards a political solution to end the decade-long war,” he told the Council.

“Despite the continued violence and suffering, it is also clear that a strategic stalemate does exists,” he stressed, adding that the military solution remains an “illusion.”

At the outset of his briefing, he enumerated the acts of violence in Syria in January, including the attempted jailbreak by ISIS in the Hasakeh region.

“This episode brings back terrible memories of the prison breaks that fueled the original rise of ISIS in 2014 and 2015,” he warned, considering it “a clear message of the importance of uniting to combat the threat of internationally-proscribed terrorist groups -- and to resolve the broader conflict in which terrorism inevitably thrives.”

Pedersen said the tragedy of the Syrian people is only deepening, noting that 14 million civilians now need humanitarian assistance, more than 12 million remain displaced, and many are right now facing freezing winter conditions, while tens of thousands are detained, abducted or missing.

“Education is fragmented and severely degraded – as indeed are institutions and infrastructure across the board,” he continued, adding that the country remains divided and society is deeply fractured.

The envoy addressed his regional and international efforts, reiterating his call for serious diplomatic discussions on a range of steps that could begin to impact the conflict dynamics, build some trust and confidence between and among Syrians and international stakeholders, and make progress step-by-step, step-for-step, within the framework of Security Council resolution 2254.

“I would hope that we can begin to identify and agree on incremental, reciprocal, mutual, realistic, precise, and verifiable steps that could be taken in parallel in areas like detainees, abductees and missing persons, humanitarian assistance and early recovery, as well as conditions for safe, dignified, and voluntary refugee returns.”

He expressed readiness to reconvene the Syrian-led, Syrian owned, UN-facilitated Constitutional Committee.

The Committee’s work so far remains “disappointing,” Pedersen lamented.

“The present challenge is to ensure that the delegations not only table constitutional texts but are prepared to revise them in light of the discussions, to try to find some common ground, or at least narrow differences.”

He promised to continue to spare no effort to engage the Syrian government and opposition, and all sectors of Syrian society, men and women, and all key international stakeholders, in pursuit of his mandate in line with resolution 2254.



Druze Group ‘Rijal al-Karama’ Rejects Disarmament, Calls for Weapons Regulation in Sweida

Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
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Druze Group ‘Rijal al-Karama’ Rejects Disarmament, Calls for Weapons Regulation in Sweida

Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)

A leading Druze movement said on Sunday that the issue of surrendering arms remains unresolved, even as local leaders in southern Syria announced the official start of implementing a peace agreement brokered by Druze clerics and dignitaries in Sweida province.

Bassem Abu Fakhr, spokesman for the “Rijal al-Karama” movement, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group's weapons were solely for defense and had never been used offensively.

“The matter of handing over weapons falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, and no final decision has been made yet,” Abu Fakhr said. “Our arms have never posed a threat to any party. We have not attacked anyone, and our weapons exist to protect our land and honor.”

He added that while the group does not object to regulating the presence of weapons, full surrender was out of the question.

“We have no issue with organizing arms under state authority, provided they remain within the province’s administrative boundaries and under state supervision,” he said. “But the matter of weapons remains unresolved.”

Formed in 2013, Rijal al-Karama was established to protect the Druze community and prevent its youth from being conscripted into fighting for any side in Syria’s protracted conflict, which erupted after mass protests against then President Bashar al-Assad.

The group continues to operate as an independent local defense force, separate from state security institutions.

Abu Fakhr told Asharq Al-Awsat that a high-level meeting held last Thursday in Sweida—attended by senior Druze spiritual leaders Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and Sheikh Hammoud al-Hanawi, along with local dignitaries and community members—resulted in an agreement to reactivate the police and judicial police under the Ministry of Interior.

Abu Fakhr also denied recent reports claiming that Druze clerics, tribal leaders, and faction commanders had agreed to fully surrender their weapons to the state.

“This issue has not been resolved by all parties in Sweida,” he said, reiterating the group’s position: “We have no objection to organizing the weapons under state oversight, as long as they remain within the administrative boundaries of the province, but not to surrendering them.”

The statement underscores continuing tensions over the role of armed groups in Sweida, a province that has largely remained outside the control of both government and opposition forces throughout Syria’s civil war.