U.N. chief urges international community to back Syrians during visit to Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres appealed to the international community Saturday to support the people in Syria at the start of his first visit to the Arab country as U.N. chief, nearly two years after the fall of Bashar Assad.

Guterres ‘ visit is the first by a UN secretary-general to the Syrian capital since 2009.

Shortly after his arrival, Guterres held talks with Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, before taking a tour of the old quarter of Damascus and the famous Umayyad Mosque.

Guterres’ visit to Syria comes as the country is trying to recover from the deadly conflict that broke out in March 2011 leaving nearly half a million people dead and causing widespread destruction that would cost tens of billions of dollars to rebuild.

“I have just arrived in Damascus for a visit of solidarity,” Guterres posted on X at the start of his three-day visit. He added that the United Nations stands with Syria at this “pivotal moment.”

“I appeal to the international community to spare no effort to support the people of Syria as well,” the U.N. chief wrote.

Since the five-decade Assad family rule came to an end in December 2024, when fighters led by gunmen loyal to al-Sharaa stormed Damascus, the nation has been struggling to recover from years of conflict and the effects of crippling Western sanctions.

While the United States and Europe have lifted many of the sanctions imposed during the rule of the Assad dynasty, the impact on the ground has so far been limited.

Cuts to international aid have worsened living conditions for many. The United Nations estimates that 90% of Syria’s population lives in poverty.

The World Bank released an assessment last year that said rebuilding Syria after over a decade of civil war is expected to cost about $216 billion.

During his stay in Syria, Guterres is scheduled to visit the U.N. force deployed along the border with Israel.

After taking power, al-Sharaa said that he had no desire for a conflict with Israel. But Israel was suspicious of the new Islamist-led leadership and quickly moved to take control of the buffer zone.

Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military facilities and periodic incursions into villages outside the buffer zone, which have sometimes led to violent confrontations with residents.