The Syrian Interim Government (SIG) and Rural Damascus Provincial Council have issued and appeal to participants in the upcoming UN Security Council session which will be held to discuss the humanitarian situation in Syria later this week.
In a press conference on Tuesday, SIG’s Deputy Head Akram Tomeh called on the United Nations and UN Security Council “to take the necessary legal measures to put an end to the massacres being committed against civilians and lift the brutal siege on eastern Ghouta.”
“The people of eastern Ghouta hold the international community responsible for the endless bloodshed as it failed to shoulder its humanitarian duties to stop the crimes being committed against them and rein in regime forces who are backed by Iranian and Russian support,” Tomeh said.
Rural Damascus Provincial Council earlier held Russia “fully responsible for the consequences of the Russian regime crimes as it claims to play the role of a mediator for peace but without putting any pressure on the Assad regime forces.” He said that the Assad regime responded to “the cease-fire announced by Russia with more procrastination and total indifference.”
Meanwhile, Syrian activists launched an online campaign under the title ‘Save eastern Ghouta’ to draw attention to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the towns and villages of eastern Ghouta because of the ongoing onslaught by regime forces on the area.
Activists on Tuesday held a sit-in the town of Mesraba in eastern Ghouta and held signs that read ‘Assad is the other side of ISIS,’ ‘stop Assad’s terrorism, and “where is the conscience of the world?’ Participants in the sit-in included Tomeh, head of the Rural Damascus Provincial Council, and officials of the local administration.
Assad regime forces have stepped up bombardment on towns and villages of eastern Ghouta since late December, killing and wounding hundreds of people.
According to the civil defense in eastern Ghouta, 234 civilians, including 66 children and 42 women, were killed in the ferocious bombardment on the Damascus suburb in the period between 1-8 February. It pointed out that 581 others were wounded, including 184 children and 120 women. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
