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Human Rights

Syria assault continues despite agreed truce

By Waleed Abu al-Khair in Cairo and AFP

A child surveys the destruction amid the ongoing Syrian regime bombardment of Eastern Ghouta. [Photo courtesy of Ghouta Media Centre]

A child surveys the destruction amid the ongoing Syrian regime bombardment of Eastern Ghouta. [Photo courtesy of Ghouta Media Centre]

As a fresh round of Syrian regime airstrikes killed 10 civilians in Eastern Ghouta, the UN and EU on Monday (February 26th) demanded that a UN-backed ceasefire unanimously adopted on Saturday be implemented immediately.

EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said the UN Security Council resolution, which calls for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, must be implemented "without delay".

The resolution was an "encouraging" step, she said, but needed to be followed up with action.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres on Monday demanded the immediate implementation of the ceasefire, as the Syrian regime continued its deadly bombardment of the opposition-held enclave outside Damascus.

Two children walk through the rubble in Eastern Ghouta, taking advantage of a lull in the shelling and airstrikes. [Photo courtesy of Ghouta Media Centre]

Two children walk through the rubble in Eastern Ghouta, taking advantage of a lull in the shelling and airstrikes. [Photo courtesy of Ghouta Media Centre]

Residents of the opposition enclave of Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus inspect the damage to their property amid ongoing regime bombardment. [Photo courtesy of Ghouta Media Centre]

Residents of the opposition enclave of Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus inspect the damage to their property amid ongoing regime bombardment. [Photo courtesy of Ghouta Media Centre]

He praised the adoption of the resolution, but said such agreements "are only meaningful if they are effectively implemented".

"That is why I expect the resolution to be immediately implemented and sustained," he told the opening of the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Also addressing the rights council, UN human rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein said that Syria -- and other conflict zones -- had "become some of the most prolific slaughterhouses of humans in recent times".

He warned that "we have every reason to remain cautious", noting that the resolution "must be viewed against a backdrop of seven years of failure to stop the violence, seven years of unremitting and frightful mass killing".

Pope Francis on Sunday also called for an immediate end to violence in Syria to allow aid deliveries, especially in Eastern Ghouta.

"This February has been one of the most violent (periods) in seven years of conflict," he said. "All this is inhuman. One cannot fight evil with another evil."

"I therefore issue an urgent appeal for an immediate halt to violence to allow access to humanitarian aid -- food and medicines -- and the evacuation of the wounded and sick," he said.

Suspected chemical attack

Meanwhile, a child died and at least 13 other people suffered breathing difficulties on Sunday after a suspected chemical attack on a village in Eastern Ghouta, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

According to the Observatory, 14 civilians had suffered breathing difficulties after a regime warplane struck the village of al-Shafouniya.

One child died and a woman was in a critical condition, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

A doctor who treated those affected told AFP he suspected "chemical weapons, probably a chlorine gas attack", adding that a 3-year-old had died of asphyxiation.

"Most of the patients have chlorine odour from their clothes and their skin. Many have dyspnea and skin and eye irritations," he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday dismissed the chemical allegations as "bogus stories".

Regime onslaught continues

Shelling and airstrikes carried out by the regime and affiliated militias have not ceased in Eastern Ghouta, activists told Diyaruna on Sunday, and were accompanied with a regime attempt to advance in opposition-held areas.

The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of the seriously wounded.

"But the great hopes for the cessation of shelling and airstrikes collapsed on Sunday, as military operations continued," said Mohammed al-Beik, an activist with the rural Damascus co-ordination committee.

Frustration has set in among civilians who had hoped for a stoppage of the onslaught, he told Diyaruna.

The main opposition groups in the area, including Jaish al-Islam and Failaq al-Rahman, have declared their intention to abide by the ceasefire, as long as the regime and its allies abide by it as well, he added.

Al-Beik said the airstrikes stopped for a few hours on Saturday due to bad weather but quickly resumed, killing an estimated 60 people and wounding dozens more in al-Marj, al-Shafouniya, Beit Sawa and Hawsh al-Dawahra.

Heavy bombardment also targeted the city of Douma and the towns of Jisreen, Kafr Batna, Harasta, Jobar and Hamouriya, he said.

The regime also continued its push in the area of the women’s prison, al-Zuraiqiya, Hawsh al-Dawahra, Hazrama and al-Rihan, al-Beik added.

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