UN special envoy Geir Pedersen called for “free and fair elections” and humanitarian assistance for Syria, expressing hope for a political solution in the northeast following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad this month.
Addressing journalists in Damascus, Pedersen expressed hope for “free and fair elections after a period of transition,” also calling for “immediate humanitarian assistance” for the war-torn country and saying that “we hope to see a political solution” in the north -east controlled by Kurds.
Civil Protection in Syria, bodies found inside a warehouse
A Syrian Civil Defense official said White Helmet rescuers discovered bodies and unidentified remains in a medicine warehouse in a Damascus suburb, 10 days after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. The warehouse full of medicine boxes is located about 50 meters from the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, a place of worship for Shiite Muslims. “We received a report about the presence of bodies, bones and a bad smell coming from the site,” said White Helmet official Ammar al-Salmo. The suburb of Sayyida Zeinab, south of Damascus, was a stronghold of pro-Iranian fighters, including the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, before the Islamist-led rebels captured the capital on December 8 in a lightning offensive
. “In the warehouse we found a cold room containing decomposing corpses,” Salmo said, adding that some appeared to have died more than a year and a half earlier. On the ground, human bones of approximately 20 victims were found. The bodies and remains were placed in black bags and transported on a truck. “We will establish the age of the victims, then we will take samples for DNA testing and try to locate their families,” added Salmo.