UN backs Syria ceasefire
Death toll in rebel enclave tops 500
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The United Nations (UN) Security Council has unanimously demanded a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, as new air strikes on the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta took the civilian death toll from seven days of bombing to more than 500.
With support from Russia, the Security Council adopted a resolution on the ceasefire to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations, but the measure did not specify when the truce would go into force beyond saying it should be “without delay.”
After the council voted last Saturday, Syrian warplanes backed by Russian air power launched new raids on a town in Eastern Ghouta, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
At least 127 children are among the 519 dead in the bombing campaign that the regime launched on Sunday last week on the rebel enclave, located just outside Damascus, the British-based monitor said.
At least 41 civilians were killed in Saturday’s strikes, including eight children. Russia has denied taking part in the assault.
Quickly following up on the vote, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were scheduled to speak by phone yesterday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to push for the truce to take hold “in the coming days,” the Elysee palace said in a statement.
To this end, France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will also go to Moscow on Tuesday.
The UN vote was initially expected to be held last Thursday, but was repeatedly delayed as diplomats were locked in tough negotiations to avoid a veto from Russia, which is militarily supporting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
“Every minute the council waited on Russia, the human suffering grew,” United States Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council after the vote, accusing Moscow of stalling.
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia rejected accusations of foot-dragging, saying that negotiations were needed to arrive at a demand for a ceasefire that was “feasible.”