BICOM

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has demanded an immediate end to fighting in Eastern Ghouta in Syria, describing the rebel enclave as a “hell on Earth,” in a speech to the UN Security Council (UNSC) yesterday.

“I believe Eastern Ghouta cannot wait. This is a human tragedy that is unfolding in front of our eyes and I don’t think we can let things go on happening in this horrendous way,” he told the council. The UNSC will council  will today debate a resolution proposed by Kuwait and Sweden which calls for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria.

The US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley said: “It’s time to take immediate action in the hopes of saving the lives of the men, women, and children who are under attack by the barbaric Assad regime. It is simply preposterous to claim that these attacks on civilians have anything to do with fighting terrorism. The Security Council must move to adopt a resolution establishing a ceasefire. The United States will support it, as should every member of the council.”

Russia supported the call for a UNSC meeting on Eastern Ghouta but has questioned the language of the current resolution. The Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said the meeting would allow all sides to “present their vision, their understanding of the situation and come up with ways of getting out of this situation. I think this is necessary given the concern that we heard today”. He also said the appeals from Guterres and Western powers to halt the violence were one-sided and did not consider the Syrian Government’s stance. “There are terrorists there who the Syrian army is fighting and the terrorists are shelling Damascus. That is being neglected.”

UK Ambassador to the UN Jonathan Allen told the UNSC: “The Syrian conflict, in all of its abhorrent human misery, is an example of what we all set up this United Nations to prevent. The Assad regime’s brutal assault of Eastern Ghouta including reports of chemical weapons use – is causing unprecedented levels of suffering. Eastern Ghouta is not a de-escalation zone. It is a zone of death and destruction.”

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he “discussed the devastating impact of international crises on civilians, including the current situation in Syria with Peter Maurer, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross.” The Foreign Secretary added that “the horrors of the violence in Eastern Ghouta show the importance of governments working closely together with organisations such as the ICRC.”

Marianne Gasser, the ICRC’s head of delegation in Syria said “The fighting appears likely to cause much more suffering in the days and weeks ahead, and our teams need to be allowed to enter Eastern Ghouta to aid the wounded. Wounded victims are dying only because they cannot be treated in time.” “This is madness and it has to stop. Civilians must not be targeted,” she added.

The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, which operates medical facilities in the Eastern Ghouta, says 70 people were killed on Wednesday, bringing the total to 366. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the total death toll since Sunday at 310.