Humanitarian Aid from Convoy Arrives in Eastern Ghouta

【Move to another page】
Quote
http://ift.tt/2Gaa4Bf
Humanitarian Aid from Convoy Arrives in Eastern Ghouta The International Committee of the Red Cross said humanitarian aid from a convoy of 13 trucks was delivered Friday to the Syrian town of Douma, northeast of Damascus, during a pause in fighting. The ICRC said food and other supplies for 12,000 people were unloaded in Douma, the largest and most populous town in rebel-controlled eastern Ghouta. The convoy began rolling into the besieged Syrian enclave of eastern Ghouta earlier Friday, but was unable to offload desperately needed supplies due to a resumption of airstrikes in the area. Ali al-Za'tari, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Syria, said the renewed shelling was in breach of "assurances of safety from parties, including the Russian Federation." The attack started as the convoy approached Douma to deliver aid that could not be offloaded Monday because of deteriorating security. Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, has called for perpetrators of crimes in eastern Ghouta to be held accountable and for an independent investigation into recent events. Earlier this month, Zeid spoke about incidents that have taken place in eastern Ghouta, which has been under siege for half a decade, at a special session of  the U.N. Human Rights Council. He spoke about the denial of food, medicine and other relief to the 400,000 residents of this besieged area. He described the trauma experienced by tens of thousands of severely malnourished children, forced to live in basements to survive the relentless airstrikes by Syrian forces.  Zeid recounted the bombing of hospitals, schools and markets and the release of toxic agents that reportedly have killed two children. He said the actions in eastern Ghouta and elsewhere in Syria are likely war crimes, and potentially crimes against humanity. The high commissioner said Syria must be referred to the International Criminal Court so that justice can be done. In response, the Syrian ambassador accused Zeid of being selective and biased in his positions and blamed terrorist factions for the situation in eastern Ghouta. The Syrian army has recaptured nearly all the farmland in eastern Ghouta in less than two weeks, leaving about half the area still under insurgent control.
March 10, 2018 at 02:29AM