France’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, François Delattre, said that the Assad regime forces, Iranian militias, and Russian air force are committing war crimes in the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta.
Eastern Ghouta will be transformed by the actions of the Assad regime into an open graveyard,” Delattre told reporters shortly before entering the UN Security Council room to attend an open session on Syria.
The worst is yet to come in eastern Ghouta, warned the French diplomat.
“We are here to consider how to fully implement UN Security Council resolution 2401, but we welcome any pressure that can be exerted on the Assad regime,” Delattre said in a response to a question on the possibility of the adoption of a new Security Council resolution to stop fighting in Syria.
Delattre went on to say that the main goal of holding a UN Security Council session on Syria is the immediate and comprehensive implementation of resolution 2401 demanding a 30-day humanitarian truce and a cessation of hostilities throughout the country.
Jonathan Allen, the UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, told reporters that the purpose of the UN Security Council meeting is to put pressure on both the Assad regime and Russia to stop the fighting.
We have to put pressure on the Assad regime and Russia to stop the fighting, Allen said. Today we will be hearing from the UN envoy Staffan de Mistura about his vision of what is happening, he added.
Eastern Ghouta, which has been under years-long siege by Assad’s forces and their allied militias, is being subjected to heavy bombardment by Russian air force and regime forces. Some 400,000 civilians are currently living in eastern Ghouta. The campaign has killed and wounded hundreds of civilians, including many children and women. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
