UN chief calls for Syria de-escalation

UNITED NATIONS: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate de-escalation in Syria after Israel carried out raids inside the wartorn country.

Guterres is “following closely the alarming military escalation throughout Syria and the dangerous spillover across its borders,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Saturday.

Israel targeted what it said were Iranian positions inside Syria after one of its warplanes was hit by Syrian air defences and crashed.

The Israeli raids came after it intercepted what it said was an Iranian drone entering its airspace.

Guterres stressed that all concerned in Syria and in the region must abide by international law. “He calls on all to work for an immediate and unconditional de-escalation of violence and exercise restraint,” Dujarric said.

It was the most serious confrontation between Iran and Israel since Syria’s war began in 2011.