Bombs strike Eastern Ghouta just hours after UN Security Council resolution

Bombs continue to strike the besieged Syrian enclave of Eastern Ghouta today, according to Save the Children partners on the ground.

Last night, after days of negotiations, the UN Security Council unanimously voted for a cessation of hostilities and to allow humanitarian access into the area, where food and medicine are running out and child malnutrition has soared to the highest level seen in the Syria crisis so far.

However, after a brief period of relative calm overnight, local aid workers report intense bombing resumed again this morning. Save the Children is calling on Minister Freeland to use her upcoming visit to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to highlight the urgent need to protect children from the horrors of war.

Save the Children also calls on UN Security Council members to demand that all parties to the conflict fully comply with yesterday’s Resolution, including an immediate start to the ceasefire and unfettered humanitarian access and medical evacuations without delay.

An aid worker with Syria Relief said that people initially came out of the underground shelters where thousands of people have been sheltering from bombing which has reportedly killed hundreds of civilians in the past week:

“At first we were optimistic. (This morning) people were finally out getting fresh air after being stuck in basements for seven days without seeing the sun or light. Some people, including children, spent these past seven days sitting on the ground. Children faced fear and cold, some children had no food to eat for two or three days. (So first thing this morning) people went out to take a breather, to see their houses and check on their relatives and get food to eat.

However, bombing soon resumed: “Military airplanes have been flying in the sky since 7:15am. Many areas in Eastern Ghouta are bombed. Children, women and civilians have received plenty of shells today. One person got killed in Madyara, there are injured people, one of the people who is staying in my basement went out for 10 minutes to check his house and on his way a bomb fell three metres away from him.

Another aid worker in Douma, Eastern Ghouta, said: “Now there is bombing just like any other day. There are loud noises coming from the frontlines. The surveillance planes are above our heads, jet fighters and elephant rockets.”

Rachel Logel-Carmichael, Save the Children Canada’s Head of Humanitarian Affairs, said: “The bombing continues just hours after the Security Council resolution was passed, and yet again children are back in their underground basements trying to shelter from the violence. If the negotiations in New York are to mean anything at all to children in Eastern Ghouta, the bombing must end now and vital food and medical supplies must urgently be allowed in. It should not need a U.N. resolution to ensure that children receive aid, which is an obligation of all parties under international law.”

“Minister Freeland has been clear on Canada’s commitment to upholding the international rules-based order, which crucially includes the rights of children in war. While in Geneva this week, Minister Freeland must articulate the steps Canada will take to stand up for children like those in Eastern Ghouta” added Logel-Carmichael.

ENDS:

Access the audio clips from our partners on the ground here: https://storycentral.savethechildren.org.uk/?c=54411&k=7e0ab1ebf6

Notes to editors:

• Minister Freeland will be undertaking her first visit to the United Nations Human Rights Council, where she will convene a panel discussion on the rights of LGBTQ2 people, women and girls, and refugees. Her address to the Council will highlight Canada’s strong commitment to protecting human rights and Canada’s efforts to promote these rights internationally.