Three months after the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Washington underscored the persisting challenges facing the process of peaceful political transition in light of recurring security incidents, notably mass killings in the country’s western part.
At a UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, US interim Chargé d'Affaires Dorothy Shea recalled that, on March 14, the Council had called on the interim authorities in Damascus to hold accountable the perpetrators of the mass killings and enact further measures to prevent its recurrence.
“We expect the interim authorities to act on the Council’s clear message. All parties in Syria must protect civilians from violence, regardless of ethnicity, religion or political ideology.”
“The Interim authorities must also embark on a political process that includes Kurdish, Druze, Alawite and Christian communities, something they have not meaningfully done to date. Only a true representative process will reassure Syrians that they have a place in Syria’s future,” Shea said, reaffirming Washington’s support for a credible, non-sectarian political transition.
Warning against the “wrong path being taken to draft a new constitution,” she stressed that without comprehensive representation, “Syria will remain trapped in the sectarian shadow of the Assad regime, increasing the risk of a new civil war.”
On the security front, Washington insists on the need to dismantle military units made up of foreign fighters, responsible for recent abuses in the coastal region. They have “no place in Syrian military or government institutions,” Shea stressed.
The US intervention also highlighted the continuing threat posed by Daesh (acronym for Islamic State), particularly in the Al-Hol and Roj detention camps (in northeastern Syria) where thousands of Daesh prisoners and their families are held. Shea called on all countries with nationals in these camps to repatriate them in order to prevent further radicalization.
She also highlighted the importance of a unified security framework that would prevent Syria from becoming a threat to its neighbors and help eradicate extremist groups, including Iranian-backed militias.
“If the 8,200 Daesh fighters currently detained were to escape, we would see a resurgence of the terrorist organization,” she warned.
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