The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen warned that conflict has not ended in the country, as his visit to the notorious Sednaya Prison on Monday was protested for being too late.
An angry woman looking for her missing brother and two of her cousins waved a shoe in front of Pedersen's car after his visit to the Sednaya prison in Damascus.
"Where have you been for 13 years? You come now after everyone has been killed? Get out of this place immediately!" the woman yelled.
Pedersen remained silent and got on the U.N. vehicle, as the woman spat after him.
"There have been significant hostilities in the last two weeks, before a cease-fire was brokered... A five-day cease-fire has now expired and I am seriously concerned about reports of military escalation," said Pedersen.
"Such an escalation could be catastrophic."
Pedersen also told the U.N. Security Council that concrete movement on an inclusive political transition in Syria would be key in ensuring the country gets the economic support it needs.
"There is a clear international willingness to engage. The needs are immense and could only be addressed with broad support, including a smooth end to sanctions, appropriate action on designations too, and full reconstruction," he said.
Pedersen also said he had met with Syria's new de facto leadership following the rebels' lightning takeover, and toured Sednaya prison's "dungeons" and "torture and execution chambers," operated under Assad's government.
He called for "broad support" for Syria and an end to sanctions to allow for reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.
Sednaya Military Prison, located 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) north of Damascus, has the worst reputation of any prison, as Amnesty International in its 2017 report dubbed it the "slaughterhouse."
According to the report, since the uprising began in March 2011, it has become a hub of systematic atrocities, with demonstrators against the former Assad regime being held and tortured, including rape, starvation, and executions.
Bashar Assad, Syria's leader for nearly 25 years, was ousted on Dec. 8 after anti-regime forces entered Damascus, forcing him to flee to Russia and ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. Detainees at Sednaya Prison, including women and children, were released.
Many of those released had spent years, if not decades, in detention centers inside the notorious prison, which were known for brutally treating political prisoners and anti-regime activists.
However, it is believed that there are secret chambers at the notorious prison where Assad held his opponents for years in inhumane conditions.
Some detainees were reportedly captured on security cameras but were not found in inaccessible areas, raising the possibility that they are in secret compartments underground.
As teams continue to dig tunnels and break down walls, Syrians who have not heard from loved ones for years have been flocking to the prison in search of traces of their relatives.
