Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
UN human rights investigators completed a five-day mission in Al-Hassakeh Governorate, Syria, where they gathered eyewitness accounts of extensive human rights abuses. These included killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and the deportation of detainees to Iraq, according to the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan highlighted growing protection concerns in southern Syria due to expanding Israeli operations in occupied areas. These involve reports of harassment, detentions, interrogations, house searches, movement restrictions, and new checkpoints in Quneitra governorate. The Israeli Government has also approved settlement expansion in the occupied Syrian Golan, considered illegal under international law.
Mr. Al-Kheetan noted that the recent opening of a trial in Damascus against former Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and regime figures, mostly in absentia, marks a notable step toward justice. The arrest of former regime official Amjad Youssef, alleged to be responsible for a 2013 massacre in Damascus, was also described as significant.
Separately, the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) stressed the ongoing need for humanitarian aid in Cuba, more than six months after Hurricane Melissa. The hurricane destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, damaged over 700 health facilities, and disrupted water systems. Many communities still lack reliable electricity, clean water, or basic services.
IFRC Deputy Regional Director for the Americas Cristian Torres Bermeo noted that recovery efforts face challenges from fuel shortages and an ongoing epidemic of mosquito-borne diseases, further complicating the humanitarian response.