Macron: Putin must convince Syrian government to respect ceasefire
During a telephone conversation with Putin ,French President Emmanuel Macron called on his Russian counterpart to encourage Syria to adopt a UN resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire “without any ambiguity”, reported Radio Liberty, citing a source in Macron’s office.
The Elysee Palace reported that during the conversation, Macron “stressed that humanitarian workers should be able to reach all people who need help, without hindrance and without delay.”
On March 5, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs said that the Syrian government did not allow the unloading of 70% of medicines that came from humanitarian aid sources and arrived that day in the surrounding area of Eastern Ghouta in Syria, which is under the control of the insurgents.
The Syrian army allowed the humanitarian workers to unload food for 27,000 people, while about 393,000 live in Eastern Ghouta, the Red Cross reported.
According to human rights activists, at least 45 civilians were killed in the area near Damascus on March 5th.
On March 4, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced that his troops would continue their offensive against the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of Damascus, despite calls from the international community for a ceasefire.
According to activists, since the launch of the assault on February 18 by Syrian government troops and their allies on Eastern Ghouta – the eastern part of the agricultural ring around Damascus, known as Ghouta – over 600 people have been killed.