UN chief Antonio Guterres says 11 years of “brutal fighting” in Syria must end…reports Asian Lite News
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a ceasefire in Syria in a statement marking 11 years of “brutal fighting” in the conflict-torn nation.
“We cannot fail the Syrian people. The conflict must cease. International humanitarian law must be respected,” said the UN chief.
“I call on all parties to meaningfully engage in the UN-facilitated political process and appeal for further support to scale up the humanitarian response. We must choose peace,” the secretary-general added.
The top UN official said that Syria’s 11 years of “brutal fighting” has come at an “unconscionable human cost,” subjecting millions there to human rights violations on a “massive and systematic scale.”
“The destruction that Syrians have endured is so extensive and deadly that it has few equals in modern history,” said the secretary-general.
He noted that the slow but systematic destruction of basic infrastructure around the country, since the civil war began in 2011 in the wake of the so-called “Arab Spring” of popular uprisings across the Middle East, has “deepened the economic crisis” and now, humanitarian needs are at their highest level since conflict began.
“We must not lose hope, we must act now. We must show the courage and determination to move beyond rhetorical commitments to peace and to do all that is necessary to reach a negotiated political solution in line with Security Council resolution 2254 (2015),” the UN chief said.
Syrian Fighters in Ukraine
Russia is recruiting Syrians for the war in Ukraine, who know how to fight in the urban areas of the city.
This was reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing four US officials. It is unknown exactly how many Syrian mercenaries were recruited, but according to the publication, some of them are already in Russia and are preparing to enter the conflict.
According to the publication, based in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, Russia offered volunteers from the country from $ 200 to $ 300 to travel to Ukraine, UNIAN reported.
Syrian militants have spent nearly a decade fighting in the urban areas, while Russian forces, mostly military, do not have this skill set, said WSJ expert Jennifer Cafarella, a researcher at the Institute for War Studies in Washington.
According to the chairman of the board of the Center for Defense Strategies Andriy Zagorodniuk, in less than 11 days of resistance, the Armed Forces managed to neutralise up to 46,000 Russian occupiers, including the killed, wounded and prisoners.
Soldiers Killed
At least 13 soldiers were killed when their bus was ambushed in the central province of Homs, a state media report.
Officers were among the slain soldiers, whose bus was attacked in the desert region of the city of Palmyra in the countryside of Homs, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.
It added that 18 other soldiers were wounded by the “terrorist attack”, which was carried out with the use of various weapons.
The state media report did not name the group or individual behind the attack, but similar ones have been carried out by remnants of the Islamic State (IS) terror group, which is still active in the desert region.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights placed the death toll at 15.
It added that thetoll is likely going to rise as most of the wounded are in critical condition.
The attack is the latest in a series of targeting by the IS against the Syrian army in the desert area.
In January, a similar attack by IS on a military bus near Palmyra killed five soldiers and wounded 20 others.
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