UN demands 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow for humanitarian aid; over 500 civilians killed in Eastern Ghouta

New York, February 25: In a bid to provide humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations to rebel-held Syria, the United Nations with Russia's backing unanimously approved a resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire. 

Notably, Syrian Government forces fired forces launched a series of airstrikes since last Sunday on Eastern Ghouta, which is a rebel-held area. During a week assault, over 500 civilians were killed while 300 others were injured. However, after a week, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously for a month-long ceasefire across Syria to allow for humanitarian deliveries and medical evacuation.

The vote on the resolution was proposed by Kuwait and Sweden on Thursday. The resolution said that the ceasefire will not apply to operations against the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda, along with individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with the terror groups.

The demand for a 30-day ceasefire was made effective immediately but activists said that the air strikes were continuing. However, this would allow the Syrian government's offensive to continue against Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists in Idlib, the last province in Syria outside the control of Damascus.

The Syrian regime’s envoy to the UN, Bashar Jaafari opposed a resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire saying that the government had a right to defend its territory and would continue to fight terrorism, wherever it is.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, "seven days of air strikes and intense artillery fire by the regime and its Russian ally have killed over 500 civilians, including 110 children." On the other side, the United States accused Russia of having "unique responsibility" for the deaths of civilians in Eastern Ghouta province.

Importantly, Eastern Ghouta is held by rebels since 2012 and is the last opposition pocket around Damascus but the province is dominated by the Islamist faction Jaish al-Islam. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is keen to retake Eastern Ghouta with an apparently imminent ground assault. So far, over 340,000 people have been killed since the civil war erupted in 2011.