Ongoing attacks by Syrian government forces and their allies has created “hell on Earth” for civilians stuck in a rebel-held Damascus suburb, the UN’s chief said on Monday, as air strikes and ground operations continued despite a days-old ceasefire.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, ordered a “humanitarian pause” from 9am-2pm local time on Tuesday to allow civilians to evacuate Eastern Ghouta.
The bombardment of rebel-held enclave over the past week has been one of the heaviest of Syria’s seven-year war, killing more than 550 people in eight days, according to a toll compiled by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor.
Rebel shelling has caused 36 deaths and a number of injuries in Damascus and nearby rural areas in the last four days, Zaher Hajjo, a government health official, told Reuters news agency.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate implementation of Saturday’s Security Council resolution for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria.
Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Guterres described the situation in Eastern Ghouta as “hell on Earth”.
The remarks come as doctors in the enclave accused the Syrian government of launching a chlorine gas attack in the town of Al-Shifaniyah in Eastern Ghouta.
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