Ottawa is calling for the regime in Damascus and its allies in Moscow and Tehran to stop “the massacre of civilians and allow the delivery of humanitarian supplies” as mandated by a recent UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Syria.
In a unanimous vote on Saturday supported by Russia, the Security Council adopted a resolution demanding parties to Syria’s seven-year-long civil war to cease hostilities without delay for at least 30 consecutive days to ensure a “durable humanitarian pause,” enabling weekly humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded.
In a statement released on Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said she is very concerned by reports that the ceasefire has been violated less than 48 hours after it being agreed upon.
“It is vital that all parties respect the ceasefire unconditionally to stop the massacre of civilians and allow the delivery of humanitarian supplies,” Freeland said.
“Canada condemns the approach of the Assad regime and its allies, Russia and Iran. The regime has targeted civilians and public services, such as schools and hospitals, and has used siege and starvation tactics, chemical weapons, and barrel bombs.”
A man carries an injured boy as he walks on rubble of damaged buildings in the rebel held besieged town of Hamouriyeh, eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, Syria, February 21, 2018. (Bassam Khabieh/REUTERS)
Canada has also been providing funding to groups working as first responders in eastern Ghouta, including the White Helmets, Freeland added.
“We hail the courage of those working to save lives,” she said. “The protection of civilians is an obligation under international humanitarian law.”
Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu announced Monday during a meeting of high-level Russian military officials that he has been ordered by President Vladimir Putin to implement a daily humanitarian pause in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta as of Tuesday and to open humanitarian corridors for civilians willing to leave the rebel stronghold.
Over the past week the Syrian army, backed up by its Russian and Iranian allies has subjected the rebel-held enclave to one of the heaviest bombardments of the seven-year war, killing hundreds.
Man with a child are seen in hospital in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria February 25, 2018. Picture taken February 25, 2018. (Bassam Khabieh/REUTERS)
On Sunday health authorities there said several people had suffered symptoms consistent with chlorine gas exposure and on Monday rescue workers and a war monitor said seven small children were killed by air and artillery strikes in one town.
During their daily briefing on the situation in Syria, Russian defence officials laid the blame for the worsening humanitarian situation on rebel groups, including the Saudi-backed Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham and the rival al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda offshoot.
They accused the rebels of holding thousands of civilians as human shields and preventing them from leaving the area. Russian officials also claimed that in the past week alone the rebels launched over 238 mortars and shells into the Syrian capital, killing four people and wounding over 50, including 16 children.
Russian officials said the Security Council Resolution 2401 does not apply to terrorist groups such as ISIS and al-Nusra Front and their forces will continue to target them.
“We are seriously alarmed by the reports that amid the overall increase in the rhetoric against Damascus and anti-Russian rhetoric in Washington threats are heard again of using force, which is unlawful,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov was quoted by TASS news agency on Monday. “They are searching for pretexts and this fully runs counter to the meaning and content of the UN Security Council Resolution 2401.”
With files from Reuters
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.