A United Nations Security Council (UNSC) delegation has arrived in Syria for its first-ever trip to the country, reported state media, just days before the war-ravaged nation marks the first anniversary of the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

The UNSC delegation arrived via the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing between Lebanon and Syria and “is scheduled to meet a number of Syrian officials” and members of civil society, state news agency SANA reported on Thursday.

Shortly afterwards, the agency said the delegation was visiting the capital Damascus’s heavily damaged suburb of Jobar.

The diplomats will meet Syria’s new authorities, including President Ahmed al-Sharaa, before visiting neighbouring Lebanon on Friday and Saturday.

While the UN works to re-establish itself in Syria,

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