(MENAFN) The UN Secretary General has called for an immediate end to fighting in the Eastern Ghouta in Syria, describing the situation as a "hell on earth".
The UN Security Council is being urged to consider a resolution which requires a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, as the Eastern Ghouta has been under brutal attack from government forces backed by Russian airpower.
Antonio Guterres said: "This is a human tragedy that is unfolding in front of our eyes and I don't think we can let things go on happening in this horrendous way," and that terminating the fighting would allow the evacuation of hundreds of people who need urgent treatment as well as allowing humanitarian aid to reach the region.
The draft UN Security Council resolution, suggested by Kuwait and Sweden, is intended to facilitate medical evacuations and deliveries of humanitarian aid, while the US ambassador to the UN said immediate action was needed to save civilian lives from the "barbaric Assad regime".
Russia on the other hand, says it wants an urgent Security Council meeting to discuss the situation, but Western diplomats see this as a delaying scheme to give the Syrian military more time to continue its offensive.
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