UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Syria, Pei Kairu.
Geir Pedersen, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Syria, today called on all parties concerned to exercise restraint following the deadly drone attack on the Homs Military Academy graduation ceremony.
The attack reportedly killed more than 80 people. The victims included both military and civilian personnel, including children. Hundreds more were injured.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations expresses his deep concern
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over attacks and "retaliatory shelling" in many parts of Syria and stressed the need for a nationwide ceasefire.
"The Secretary-General also stressed the importance of protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure at all times in accordance with international humanitarian law," Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters in New York. ”
Escalating violence
Pei Kairu expressed grave concern about the escalation of violence in Syria, noting that after the attack, pro-government forces fired artillery shells and rockets into Idlib province, causing local civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
He also noted that the conflict in the northwest has escalated significantly, with airstrikes by pro-government forces and attacks by the extremist group Hayat Tahriral-Sham going on for weeks.
According to reports, Turkey also carried out airstrikes on northeastern Syria on the same day because the militant group Kurdistan Workers' Party had previously claimed to have launched attacks on Turkish government facilities.
"Maximum restraint"
Pei expressed regret over the casualties on all sides and urgently called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint.
"Today's horrific scenes remind us of the need for an immediate de-escalation of violence, a nationwide ceasefire and a cooperative approach to terrorist groups listed by the Security Council, in accordance with Security Council resolution 2254 (2015)," he said. ”
The resolution endorsed the road map for the peace process in Syria.
Peru urged all parties to the conflict to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure in accordance with their obligations under international law.
"Today's developments further highlight that the status quo in Syria is unsustainable, and without a meaningful political path to implement Security Council resolution 2254 (2015), I fear we will only see a further deterioration of the situation, including a deterioration in the security situation," he said. ”
