NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed alarm at the escalation of violence in Syria and urged all parties to immediately halt the fighting. All parties must honor their obligations under the international humanitarian law and do their utmost to protect the civilians and civilian objects, he said in a press release on Monday. According to Kuwait News Agency, Guterres stressed the need of allowing safe passage for the civilians who are fleeing the conflict. He urged the warring parties to return immediately to the UN-facilitated political process pursuant to the Security Council Resolution 2254. The ongoing civil war in Syria, which has persisted for 14 years, has resulted in not only dozens of thousands of casualties but has also forced scores of Syrian civilians to flee their homes due to the extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and disruption of humanitarian aid delivery. The Secretary-General emphasized the urgency of all parties returning to the political process and engaging wi th his Special Envoy for Syria, Geir O. Pedersen, to end the bloodshed as early as possible.
