Live
Audio Only
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution sponsored by Kuwait and Sweden calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria to deliver emergency aid and evacuate the wounded and civilians caught in the Eastern Ghouta region, the last remaining rebel-held area in Syria.
RELATED:
Syria: Nearly 368 People Killed in 5 Days, UN Calls for End to 'Monstrous Campaign of Annihilation'
Bombing in Syria's Eastern Ghouta region, near Damascus, has come under scrutiny after civilian casualties were reported. The Syrian government has justified the attacks by claiming militants first attacked Damascus from that enclave.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley criticized Russia for "stalling" the vote, but Russia had previously stressed it would support a ceasefire agreement so long as it didn't include the Islamic State or Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist groups.
Hundreds have died in Eastern Ghouta, including at least 100 children. Doctors Without Borders says the most affected by Syrian government shelling are women, children and the elderly. U.N. Human Rights Chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has called the attacks a "monstrous campaign of annihilation."
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported on Saturday that armed rebels in Eastern Ghouta have continued to attack residential neighborhoods in Damascus with "dozens of mortar and rocket shells and sniper fire."
Newsletter
