STORY: UN envoy urges more support for Syria as 400,000 Syrian refugees return from Lebanon
SHOOTING TIME: Nov. 24, 2024
DATELINE: Nov. 25, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:50
LOCATION: Damascus
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Syrian foreign ministry
2. various of the meeting between Syrian foreign minister Bassam Sabbagh and UN envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen
3. SOUNDBITE (English): GEIR PEDERSEN, UN special envoy for Syria

STORYLINE:

United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Sunday called for boosting funding for Syria, as more than 400,000 Syrian refugees have returned from Lebanon, placing a significant burden on the nation's resources.
   
Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh, Pedersen said that the government needs to continue "to do what it has done best so far, and to provide protection and security for those who are returning."

SOUNDBITE (English): GEIR PEDERSEN, UN special envoy for Syria
"We are now in a situation where more than 400,000 Syrians have returned from Lebanon to Syria. This places a heavy responsibility on the government and the international community. We need to see that the government continues to do what it has done best so far, and to provide protection and security for those who are returning. And we need to see that the international community lives up to its responsibility and increases its funding to Syria in this very critical situation.
We need to address in a comprehensive manner all the issues that need to be addressed. It's obvious we need to address the political situation, the security situation, the restoration of Syria's sovereignty and independence. We need to address the issues of the economy, the sanctions and of reconstruction, the file of the detainees, and as I said, the file of the refugees. And all of these issues, as you know, are indeed interlinked. And the first thing we can start with when it comes to the political process is, of course, to receive the work of the Constitution Committee."

Syria has been embroiled in a civil war since March 2011, leading to the displacement of millions of people. The return of refugees from neighboring countries like Lebanon adds pressure on the country's already struggling infrastructure. 

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Damascus.
(XHTV)