A Syrian court has sentenced ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, after convicting him of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the country’s civil war.

It is the first conviction against Assad, who fled from Damascus to Moscow with his family after his regime was overthrown in December 2024, ending his family’s five-decade grip on power.

Assad’s cousin and the former head of political security in southern Syria’s Deraa province, Atef Najib, was also sentenced to death. He had been put on trial and appeared wearing a striped prison uniform inside a cage in the courtroom as the judge read out his sentence.

Deraa is widely seen as the birthplace of the uprising against Assad’s rule.

In March 2011, the detention and alleged torture of a group of teenagers accused of writing anti-government graffiti sparked protests in the city, which were met with a violent crackdown by security forces.

That response helped ignite nationwide demonstrations that escalated into civil war in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

Syria’s interim government began trying officials associated with the Assad regime, which ruled the country for more than 50 years, earlier this year.

Najib is one of the highest-ranking officials to be put on trial.

He was convicted of crimes including murder, “the intentional killing of children under 15” and “torture leading to death”.

The court also sentenced six former military and security officials in absentia to death, including Bashar al-Assad’s younger brother, Maher. He ran the army’s elite Fourth Division and also fled to Moscow when the regime fell.

The others convicted include former defence minister Fahd al-Freij.

UN investigators have urged Syria’s Government to trace thousands of missing detainees and hold perpetrators to account after a week-long visit that took in bomb attacks in Damascus, prison visits in the northeast and reports of vigilante violence in Homs.

Resolution 2824 (2026) extends until 31 December 2026 the mandate of UNDOF, one of the UN’s longest-standing peacekeeping missions.

The Security Council established the mission following the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Israel and Syria, which ended the Yom Kippur War. 

Its mandate is to maintain the ceasefire between the parties and supervise the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces as well as the areas of separation and limitation in the Golan.

Syria: ‘Among most stable countries in the region’

“Syria today is among the most stable countries in the region,” Ambassador Ibrahim Olabi of Syria told the Council.

His country is engaged in reconstruction, strengthening relations with Council members and cooperating with partners on issues including chemical weapons, terrorism and regional security, he said.

“The change in Syria that Israel appears to have feared is precisely this: the disappearance of a regime that practiced torture and deployed chemical weapons against its own people,” he stated.

Adapting to new realities

The Security Council had heard briefings on Monday, apprising members of the situation on the ground amid fragile security in restive southern Syria as Damascus tackles inflation and efforts to advance its Peoples Assembly following elections last year.

“Syria’s political transition is at a critical phase, with opportunity and fragility existing side-by-side,” the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Claudio Cordone, said in his briefing.

“The scale of the challenges facing this transitional parliament cannot be overstated,” he said. “New laws need to be debated and adopted, executive actions need to be reviewed, diverse voices must be heard and progress made on the transition.”

Read our full news story on that meeting here.

Watch the Security Council’s adoption of the latest UNDOF extension below:

“There is now a genuine opportunity to help Syrians move from survival towards recovery,” said Assistant Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs Indrika Ratwatte, on behalf of UN relief chief Tom Fletcher. 

“This moment requires ambition anchored in realism: sustained humanitarian action, political will and investment are essential to help Syrians move beyond emergency assistance and rebuild their lives.”

Despite signs of progress towards recovery, reconstruction and development, “humanitarian needs remain acute, displacement persists and conditions for sustainable returns are still uneven across the country,” Mr. Ratwatte said.

Millions remain displaced

Millions of Syrians remain displaced, both within Syria and abroad. Since December 2024, some 1.6 million refugees and nearly two million internally displaced people have returned.

As people go back to their communities, access to basic services, protection and livelihoods is critical, and returns and reintegration must remain safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable, Mr. Ratwatte said.

While aid operations are delivering, serving 3,000 communities and reaching three million people in the first quarter of this year, he said resources remain insufficient, adding that “with more support, much more can be achieved.”

To address this, meetings between the government and UN partners in May mapped out the path forward under the No Camps, No Tents vision, focused on protection, service provision and sustainable livelihoods, alongside Syria’s statement of national recovery priorities, which provides a clear national direction for recovery and reintegration.

Beyond emergency aid

Noting that the $2.92 billion humanitarian appeal is just 20 per cent funded, Mr. Ratwatte issued three requests for Security Council action:

• “Help us sustain a humanitarian response that is proving it can deliver. Predictable and flexible funding are essential”
• “We must support Syria’s transition beyond emergency aid by helping address the barriers preventing people from rebuilding their lives”
• “We require sustained investment in recovery and reconstruction, aligned with the government’s “Statement of National Recovery Priorities” and guided by the needs and rights of affected communities

“We must meet urgent needs today while laying the foundations for lasting stability and prosperity,” he said, adding that development financing, economic recovery and stronger services will be essential to ensuring Syria’s transition is sustainable.

‘Opportunity and fragility exist side-by-side’

Also briefing the Council, the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Claudio Cordone, said “Syria’s political transition is at a critical phase, with opportunity and fragility existing side-by-side.”

Highlighting recent meetings in Damascus with ministers, survivors and families of victims of past atrocities and a wide range of civil society and women actors, he said voting had taken place peacefully in the past weeks, however, more than eight months since the main elections, the People’s Assembly has still not been constituted, awaiting the Presidential appointment of a third of its members.

“The scale of the challenges facing this transitional parliament cannot be overstated,” he said. “New laws need to be debated and adopted, executive actions need to be reviewed, diverse voices must be heard and progress made on the transition.”

Economic conditions remain a key challenge for the transition, he said, welcoming Syrian efforts to tackle inflation, attract investment, strengthen private-sector activity and promote reform.

Kidnappings and daily Israeli violations

However, security challenges remain.

Kidnappings, counter-kidnappings and internal rivalries among Druze factions continue to affect the province of Sweida, where no progress can be seen on the implementation of the 2025 Roadmap of confidence-building and reintegration following a spate of deadly clashes in July 2025, which had sowed seeds of distrust between Damascus and locals that still persist amid a fragile security environment.

Meanwhile, Israel remains in violation of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, with its continued military activity and near-daily incursions across parts of southern Syria, including erecting temporary checkpoints, searching and detaining of civilians, with some still remaining in custody, alongside reports of restrictions on Syrian civilian access and damage to agricultural lands.

Noting Syria’s restraint and signals of openness to a security arrangement with Israel, Mr. Cordone said the UN in Syria is enhancing its efforts to address the needs of affected populations amidst continued Israeli military activity and strongly reiterated “our call on Israel to adhere to the 1974 Agreement, release those illegally detained and respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Terrorist arrests, extremist networks and foreign fighters

To address threats from extremist networks, Mr. Cordone said Syria reports having conducted extensive counterterrorism operations, resulting in over 230 arrests in the past three months, including foreign nationals, the dismantling of seven Da’esh-linked cells and the seizure of weapons and equipment across several governorates.

However, Da’esh activity outside traditional operating areas and its attempts to exploit governance gaps and local grievances are concerning, he said, highlighting a 14 June attack on a security headquarters in Raqqa that killed security personnel and injured others.

Continued concern about foreign fighter networks has also emphasised the importance of ensuring effective integration.

Supporting regional stability

With a view to supporting regional stability, Syria affirmed its position of non-interference in Lebanon, the Special Envoy said.

Syrian security forces launched operations targeting cross-border smuggling networks and reportedly blocked attempts to transfer rockets into Lebanon, he continued.

“We hope that the recent Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran will be implemented and that greater regional stability can re-enable focus on Syria’s stability and its economy.”

Listen back to an interview with Sofia Candeias, from the UN Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict: 

The UN Security Council meets Friday morning in New York to discuss the evolving situation in Syria, as the country navigates a fragile transition after years of conflict and the fall of the Assad regime. Deputy Special Envoy Claudio Cordone and UN relief chief Tom Fletcher are expected to brief members on political and humanitarian developments. Follow our live coverage for updates from the chamber as they happen.

The highly charged scenes in a Damascus court on Sunday, as the first official of the former Assad regime went on trial, were a stark reminder of the clamour for justice among the families of its countless victims. While some say it is a start, it has also raised concerns over the will of Syria’s new authorities to bring the many perpetrators to account.

Eyewitnesses captured the moment a burning fuel tanker drove through the centre of Hasakah, Syria, leaving a trail of fire behind it.

The fuel truck reportedly caught fire at a gas station. The tanker driver then attempted to drive the burning vehicle towards a fire station to contain the blaze, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.

Seven people were injured, and 11 vehicles and a bus were destroyed in the incident, SANA reported, citing the Hasakah Health Directorate.

Speaking from Damascus, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)’s representative in Syria, Asseer Al-Madaien, said that the country has seen a “sharp rise” in people crossing the border from Lebanon – more than 200,000 between 2 and 27 March. 

“The vast majority, nearly 180,000, are Syrians, including Syrian refugees who had fled Syria seeking safety in the past in Lebanon and now forced to flee again,” she said.

 More than 28,000 Lebanese also have crossed into Syria. 

Fleeing with nothing

“Most are people fleeing the intense Israeli bombardments,” Ms. Al-Madaien told reporters in Geneva. “They arrive exhausted, traumatized and with very, very few belongings.”

The UNHCR representative said that the agency is preparing for as many as 350,000 to cross into Syria, depending on the course of the conflict.

As the humanitarian fallout continues to deepen over a month since Israeli and US airstrikes on Iran began, sparking a wider regional war, supply lines across the Middle East are already severely disrupted. 

The UN World Food Programme (WFP)’s Director of Supply, Chain Corinne Fleischer, said that the agency is concerned about “all [its] big operations”.

WFP currently has “70,000 metric tonnes of food that is impacted by the war…About half of them are on chartered bulk vessels and the other half are on in containers which are either on route or stuck in a port and don’t move,” she said.

Speaking from Rome, Ms. Fleischer clarified that WFP has no vessels in the Strait of Hormuz but is impacted “by the ripple effect of what’s happening there… vessels being stuck in ports, not berthing to ports, not leaving ports, containers not being offloaded”. 

COVID precedent

The WFP official warned that similar global supply chain disruptions seen during COVID took “four to five months to get back into place once the situation’s stabilized”. 

Shipping costs have surged as carriers avoid the Suez Canal linked to the Middle East war and have to re-route around the Cape of Good Hope. This adds up to 30 days to the journey and has driven rates up 15 to 25 per cent, with fuel price hikes also hitting firms’ bottom lines.

Speaking about mitigating measures, Ms. Fleischer explained that WFP has been “asking for priority cargo for humanitarian operations” as it is the only UN organization with its own shipping department directly engaging with shipping lines and vessel owners. 

She said that the agency has successfully negotiated a waiver for the surcharges that are being put in place by shipping lines and certain ports at risk in the Middle East, which represent between $2,000 to $4,000 per container – a saving of about $1.5 million so far. 

Afghanistan aid delays

WFP is also rerouting cargo, for instance to Afghanistan, where 17 million people are food insecure. 

Earlier this year, food aid sourced in Pakistan was impacted by the Pakistan-Afghanistan war and initially re-routed through Iran, Ms. Fleischer said. 

“While we were [rerouting] to get into Bandar Abbas port of Iran, the war broke out” she explained. “We had to put it in Jebel Ali [port] in Dubai and now we will truck it from Dubai through Saudi Arabia…That adds about 1,000 euros per tonne and of course another three weeks.”

The WFP official expressed further concern about Sudan, with 19 million people “acutely hungry”, as well as Somalia and South Sudan, where operations are buckling under longer lead times and higher costs.

“The financing of humanitarian operations has, since several years, not being where it should be,” she said. “We have eroded any buffer stocks. We’re living from hand-to-mouth in these operations.”

With famine in areas of Sudan “there is no time”, she insisted. “Our operations and pipelines don’t allow for a three-weeks-longer rerouting through the Horn of Africa.”