Evening recap

Good evening Middle East Eye readers,
Our live blog is about to finish for the evening. Here are some of the most important developments today:
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The United Nations special envoy for Syria has cautioned that the country’s war “has not ended yet”, pointing to ongoing clashes in the north between Turkish-backed armed groups and US-backed Kurdish fighters
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Geir Pedersen told the UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday that “significant hostilities” had erupted over the past two weeks before a ceasefire was eventually brokered. He warned that any further military escalation could be “catastrophic” for Syria, which remains mired in instability despite the removal of President Bashar al-Assad
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The state of a mass grave in Damascus and statements by people living in the surrounding area suggest that the area is a mass crime scene and may have been the site of other summary executions, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday
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A French delegation arrived on Tuesday at the country’s embassy in Damascus, the first visit of diplomats from France since Assad’s overthrow, AFP reported
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Germany plans to hold talks with representatives of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Damascus, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, joining the United States and Britain in establishing contact with the group after it led the overthrow of Assad
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The head of a United Nations investigative body has reached out to Syria’s new authorities through their diplomatic missions, expressing his willingness to engage with them and to travel to Syria to secure evidence of war crimes, he said at a press briefing on Tuesday
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Syrian caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir told Al Jazeera TV on Tuesday that Syria has very low foreign currency reserves
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A UN refugee agency official said on Tuesday that around one million Syrian refugees are expected to return to the country during the first six months of 2025 and urged nations to refrain from enforcing forced returns
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The United Nations has accused Israel of breaching the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria after Israeli forces seized control of a demilitarised buffer zone previously maintained under the ceasefire