The UN Security Council Monday backed a push for Syrian peace talks as the death toll in government air strikes on a rebel-held town outside Damascus neared 100, sparking global outrage.
It came just hours after UN officials expressed horror over Sunday's deadly raids on Douma, among the bloodiest regime attacks in Syria's four-year war.The unanimously approved Security Council statement, the first of its kind in two years, was described as "historic" by Alexis Lamek, France's Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations.
Calling for a political transition to end a conflict that has killed some 240,000 people, the council text was adopted by Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the other 14 member states despite reservations from Venezuela.
The 16-point plan backs a peace initiative, set to begin in September, aiming to set up four working groups to address safety and protection, counterterrorism, political and legal issues and reconstruction.
The council demanded that all sides work for a an end to the war by "launching a Syrian-led political process leading to a political transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people."
It made no specific mention of Assad's future, but Western governments have made clear that a transition would involve his exit from power at some point in time.
Venezuela, which has friendly relations with Syria, disassociated itself from parts of the statement.
The raids came almost exactly two years after devastating chemical weapons attacks on the same region that much of the international community blamed on the Syrian government.The statement was adopted a day after regime air strikes on a marketplace and other parts of Douma, in the rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta, killed at least 104 and injured 532, according to medics and the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
Hussam Adnan, a volunteer doctor in the city's field hospital, said on his Facebook page the death scene inside modest hospital that suffer lack of medical equipments is a heartbreaking especially wen medics find themselves powerless in front of wounded pleas to rescue them since their injuries are fatal.
"Abu Basel, another field doctor told Zaman al-Wasl via Skype that 70 surgery had been made in the massacre's day amid a difficult and awful circumstances, saying most of Douma's field hospital are in the basements where no healthy conditions are available.
"We received more 532 wounded and each doctor was ought to check 100 cases in very short time." he added.
Syria's main opposition body in exile, the National Coalition, denounced the strikes and the international community's "lukewarm response" towards the war's civilian casualties.
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said government aircraft carried out another four strikes on Monday morning, without providing a casualty toll.
He said the number of dead in repeated raids on Douma had forced gravediggers to create a mass grave at least four layers deep to accommodate the dead.
An AFP photographer said residents were trying to bury victims of Sunday's attack, despite the renewed strikes.
The photographer described Sunday's attack as the worst he had covered in the town. He saw dozens of bodies lined up on the bloodied floors of a makeshift clinic, as medics struggled to treat waves of wounded.
Eastern Ghouta, regularly targeted by government air strikes, has been under a suffocating siege for nearly two years.
Amnesty International has accused the government of committing war crimes there, saying its heavy bombardment of the area was compounding the misery created by the blockade.
It also accused rebels in the area of committing war crimes by firing rockets indiscriminately at Damascus.
- 'Deliberate' targeting of civilians -
The opposition National Coalition accused the government of "deliberately" targeting civilians in Douma.
"Assad's jet fighters fired missiles on marketplaces at (a) busy time when they are densely crowded with the intention of inflicting as many civilian casualties as possible," a statement read. (With AFP)
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.