UN official urges Israel to stop incursions and presses for transitional justice, aid and mission relocation

Claudio Cardone, a United Nations official speaking from Damascus, told the Security Council that recent months have seen progress toward stabilization in Syria but that the country still faces economic strain, social tensions and localized insecurity that threaten political transition.

Cardone accused Israeli forces of repeated violations of Syrian sovereignty and international agreements, saying in the briefing that Israeli airstrikes on 19 March targeted Syrian military infrastructure and that incursions continued, including an operation on 29 March launched from Jebel Al Sheik/Mount Hermon. "I reiterate a strong call on Israel to cease violations, respect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity, adhere to the 1974 disengagement-of-forces agreement, and prevent incidents such as the one today," he said, and he urged Israel to return Syrians detained in violation of international law.

The briefing also described humanitarian and security developments across Syria. Cardone said that as of 19 April nearly 300,000 people fleeing fighting in Lebanon had crossed into Syria and that about 51,000 of those were Syrian nationals; he reported that the Syrian Ministry of Interior announced…