Mark Lowcock, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that “satellite imagery shows that entire towns and villages have been razed to the ground” in northwestern Syria.
In briefing to the UN Security Council on Thursday, Lowcock said that “the people of Idleb are reached exclusively through the cross-border operation.”
“There can be no reason, rationale, excuse or justification for the destruction of civilian areas on the scale seen in Idleb today.”
The UN Security Council listened to reports on the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Syria and on the progress in mediation by the UN envoy Geir Pedersen.
Western Diplomats said that the Council is considering a draft resolution that would call for a truce in northwestern Syria “to avoid a further deterioration of the already catastrophic humanitarian situation.”
Kuwait, Germany and Belgium circulated a draft resolution to the 15-member body late on Wednesday that would express “outrage at the unacceptable levels of violence escalating in and around Idlib.”
The draft resolution will call for a ceasefire as well as a “cessation of attacks on medical facilities in this northwestern region of Syria” and will call on the major players to protect civilians and medical personnel.
The United Nations has already called for an immediate “calm” in Idlib province which has been subjected to ferocious bombing campaign by the Assad regime and Russian forces. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday called for the reestablishment of a the ceasefire agreement following the Assad regime and Russia’s escalation of military operations in northwestern Syria.
The Syrian National Coalition’s Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) on Wednesday said that whole villages and towns were deserted as a result of the intensive bombardment and shelling.
Meanwhile, the Syrian National Coalition said that the Assad regime and Russian attacks on vital civilian centers are not random, but deliberate and aimed forcing civilians to surrender or flee their homes. (Source: Syrian National Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
