UN chief says Syria has 'moment of opportunity' during landmark visit

DAMASCUS — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said Syria has a “moment of opportunity” to rebuild after years of conflict, describing the country’s notorious Sednaya Prison as a stark symbol of repression under former President Bashar al-Assad.Guterres made the remarks during a visit to the prison north of Damascus on Saturday as part of his first trip to Syria since becoming U.N. chief and the first visit by a U.N. secretary-general to the country since 2009.”Today, Syria is facing a moment of opportunity — not only to recover from conflict, but to lay the foundations for a more stable, inclusive and prosperous future for all,” Guterres wrote Sunday on X.During a tour of Sednaya Prison, Guterres described the conditions endured by detainees under the former government.”The Sednaya military prison shows how horrendous the oppression was during the previous Syrian regime,” he said.Standing inside one of the prison cells, Guterres said about 35 prisoners had been held in conditions where food intended for only five or six people was shared among them, describing the facility as a place of “permanent torture.”He added that other forms of abuse had been even worse, saying the prison illustrated the scale of repression under the former government.Sednaya Prison became internationally known during the decades-long rule of Syria’s Baath Party for allegations of systematic torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Human rights groups have said thousands of detainees died at the facility.According to Syria’s state-run SANA news agency, Guterres toured the prison alongside Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim Olabi. He also visited the Umayyad Mosque and Damascus’ Old City.During his three-day visit, Guterres held talks with President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, reaffirming the United Nations’ support for Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity while urging the international community to support the country’s recovery.The visit comes after opposition forces overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s government on Dec. 8, 2024, ending more than five decades of Baath Party rule under the Assad family.