The United Nations criticized Russia’s announcement of the establishment of a daily five-hour truce which violated UN Security Council’s resolution 2401. It warned of the continued bombardment of eastern Ghouta, adding that the UN Security Council resolution which was passed on Saturday, demanding a 30-day ceasefire across Syria has not been implemented. Meanwhile, activists said that three civilians were killed on Thursday morning in the towns of Al-Marj, Kafarbatna, and Hammouriya.
The situation in eastern Ghouta was worsening, said Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, presenting the Secretary-General’s latest report on Wednesday.
“Assistance across conflict lines to millions of people in hard-to-reach and besieged areas has in recent months totally collapsed,” Lowcock said. “Unless this changes, we will soon see even more people dying from starvation and disease than from the bombing and shelling.”
Lowcock stressed that the Russian-proposed daily five-hour humanitarian pause did not offer enough time to reach hard-hit areas.
Nasr Al-Hariri, Head of the Syrian Negotiations Commission, wondered why the UN Security Council did not take action in response to the Assad regime and Russia’s violations of resolution 2401.
“If the UN Security Council knows that the regime and its allies have not implemented the UN resolutions and have not respected the truce, and that the Assad regime is still using chemical weapons and targeting innocent civilians and besieging civilians under the pretext of the fight against terrorism, then what is it waiting for?” Hariri said in comments he posted on Twitter
The Syrian Coalition has warned that massacres and genocide may take place in eastern Ghouta should bombings by the Assad regime and its allies continue. Eastern Ghouta has been subjected to ferocious onslaught by the Assad regime and its allies despite the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution calling for a cessation of hostilities. According to international organizations, the onslaught has so far claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
