A Syrian soldier stands guard behind his machine gun in the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta countryside on March 7, 2018. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)
UNITED NATIONS, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Envoys to the United Nations on Wednesday expressed their disappointment at the failure to implement a Security Council resolution that demands an immediate cease-fire in Syria.
"We are now 11 days after the adoption of the resolution... we are very disappointed with the fact that the implementation remains totally and completely inadequate," Swedish ambassador to the United Nations Olof Skoog told reporters before he walked into a closed-door emergency meeting of the Security Council.
"Particularly we are appalled by the continued indiscriminate attacks, including airstrikes, in Eastern Ghouta, which of course have to cease immediately."
A Syrian tank is seen at the town of Muhamadiyeh, east of Damascus, capital of Syria, on March 6, 2018. The Syrian army on Tuesday fully captured the town of Muhamadiyeh in the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta countryside, the latest in a series of victories the Syrian army achieved in the war on the rebel groups in that sprawling area, according to state news agency SANA. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)
Humanitarian workers must be able to do their job as the resolution envisaged; those that have influence over the parties must increase pressure to improve compliance, said the ambassador.
"So far we see only minimal signs from the Syrian authorities to implement the resolution and we are very disappointed about that."
His delegation would demand full and immediate implementation of Resolution 2401 at Wednesday's meeting, he said. "At least we want to see a facilitation letter signed for another convoy for Eastern Ghouta as soon as possible, preferably tomorrow (Thursday). No medical items should be removed and security guarantees must be honored. We also want to see immediate progress on medical evacuations from Eastern Ghouta as soon as possible."
A convoy of the United Nations, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which was delivering life-saving humanitarian assistance to 27,500 people in Douma, Eastern Ghouta, could not complete the delivery on Monday because of insecurity, said the United Nations.
A Russian soldier stands guard as truckloads of aid cross the Wafidin area, northeast of Damascus, toward the rebel-held Douma district in the Eastern Ghouta countryside on March 5, 2018. As many as 46 truckloads of relief aid entered the rebel-held Douma district in the Eastern Ghouta countryside east of the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)
As a result, 14 of the 46 trucks in the convoy were not able to fully offload critical humanitarian supplies. Nearly half of the food carried on the convoy could therefore not be delivered. Moreover, a part of the medical and health supplies to be included for delivery was removed by the Syrian authorities, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Tuesday.
The United Nations is demanding the completion of the mission.
Francois Delattre, the French ambassador to the United Nations, on Wednesday criticized the "extreme cynicism" of the Syrian authorities over the aid convoy. "This is completely unacceptable and must stop," he told reporters.
He also noted that the Syrian government troops keep besieging the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta and bombing it "in complete violation of Resolution 2401."
Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja'afari (Front) speaks after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution demanding a ceasefire across Syria at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 24, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
Wednesday's emergency meeting, which is requested by France and Britain, is about the implementation of the resolution, safe humanitarian access, and medical evacuations, said Delattre.
The British Permanent Mission to the United Nations said it would demand an end to attacks on civilians.
"The people of #EasternGhouta have endured enough broken promises of ceasefires & humanitarian pauses. That is why the UK & @franceonu (French UN mission) have called for urgent #UNSC consultations today: to demand an end to the military campaign against civilians," the British mission tweeted.
