UN officials voice frustration over lack of cease-fire in Syria

Senior UN officials have expressed frustration on Wednesday over the failure to implement a Security Council resolution that demands a cease-fire throughout Syria.


"There are no words to express our frustration over the collective failure of the international community to end this war. But that frustration is nothing compared to the suffering and destruction visited ceaselessly upon the Syrian people. We are here again today because the brief respite you unanimously demanded only days ago in Resolution 2401 has not materialized," Jeffrey Feltman, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told the Security Council.

The airstrikes, shelling, and ground offensives have continued in Syria. There are even reports of yet another chlorine gas attack, said Feltman. "What we need is implementation of 2401, and that is not happening."

Resolution 2401 affirms that the cessation of hostilities shall not apply to military operations against terrorist groups, he said. "But there must be a frank assessment of what this means in relation to the humanitarian tragedy we are witnessing in Eastern Ghouta."

The scale of the Syrian government's "indiscriminate military attacks" against the rebel-held enclave cannot be justified on the basis of targeting fighters of Al-Nusra Front, a terrorist group, said Feltman, who also condemned shelling from Eastern Ghouta that has injured or killed civilians in nearby Damascus.

"Efforts to combat terrorism do not supersede obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law," he said.
 (chinamedia)
 1/3/18
-

• Russia’s UN envoy warns there will be 'no ceremonies' with terrorists in Syria
• Terrorist gangs renews attacks on corridor for evacuation of civilians from Ghouta