China envoy warns of re-emergence of Daesh, other Takfiri outfits in Syria

As Syria edges closer to final victory over foreign-backed terrorists, a senior Chinese diplomat warns that terror outfits could still re-emerge in the Arab country, calling for a continued and concrete fight against the Takfiri terrorists, most of whom remain holed up in embattled Idlib Province.

“There is now a danger of terrorist organizations like ISIS (Daesh) being revived, we see some signs in some of the places,” China’s Special Envoy for Syria Xie Xiaoyan told reporters after meeting with UN Special Envoy for the Arab country Geir Pedersen in Geneva on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

“So the fight against terrorism needs to be continued. They need to be finished,” he added. “The international community should pay attention to the early warning.”

The Chinese diplomat pointed to the situation in Idlib Province, the last major militant stronghold in Syria, stressing that anti-terrorism efforts in Syria’s northwestern regions “should not be relaxed given the large number of terrorists and extremists still gathering” in the province, the Xinhua news agency cited him as saying.

In parallel with those battles, he added, all parties should actively work to promote a political solution to the crisis gripping Syria while respecting the Arab nation’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

The meeting comes as Syrian government forces have been making fresh gains in the southern parts of Idlib and nearby Hama Province as they move to rid the foreign-backed militants of their last major bastion in the Arab country.

In January, the UN estimated that there were 20,000 terrorists in Idlib associated with so-called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is a coalition of different factions of terror outfits largely composed of the al-Qaeda-inspired  Jabhat Fateh al-Sham Takfiri terrorist group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front.

Daesh is no longer in control of any urban bastions in Syria and its sporadic presence in the Arabic country is quickly shirking against advancing government troops.

Beijing’s special envoy for Syria further urged the international community to pay due attention to the Arab country’s economic reconstruction and help Syrians return to normal life.

China to provide Syria with $16mn worth of aid

Beijing is set to dispatch two batches of humanitarian aid to Syria under two cooperation agreements with Damascus.

Beijing has long called for an end to the ongoing war in Syria through diplomatic approaches.

Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi said in June that Beijing will continue to support Damascus to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity and continue its fight against terrorism.

China has also voiced its readiness, on several occasions, to stand by Syria in reconstruction efforts.

Read more:

• China says to help with reconstruction of Syria
• Putin: Russia backs Syrian army attacks on terrorists in Idlib
• Syria: Turkish convoy enters Syria’s Idlib to help militants as army advances

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