Syrian Humanitarian Crisis Worsens as Russia Escalates Airstrikes

Secretary General Antonio Guterres once again decried the rising violence and loss of civilian life in Syria, particularly in Idlib located in northwest Syria. He called yet again for an immediate ceasefire. The Secretary General’s statement on February 28th came a day after a UN Security Council meeting on the humanitarian crisis in Syria. The Secretary General said that he has spoken with Russian and Turkish leaders, urging a ceasefire. However, he failed to publicly call out Russia by name for helping the Assad regime vanquish the remnants of opposition forces with indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure, causing civilian deaths and the destruction of schools and hospitals. Secretary General Guterres also failed to condemn Russia and China for their vetoes of a Security Council resolution that would have kept a vital cross-border route open for the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid. The result is the impediment of delivery of assistance to alleviate the human suffering that Russia and the Assad regime have inflicted upon the Syrian people.