At a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to evaluate the conclusions and developments related to the implementation of the ceasefire decision in Syria, the Council declared that resolution 2401 on the declaration of humanitarian ceasefire for a month was not implemented.

UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock gave information to the Security Council about the humanitarian aid and humanitarian ceasefire in Syria via teleconference.

"When weapons speak, civilians pay the price," said Lowcock, has announced that in recent weeks, after Turkiye launched operation, an estimated 183,500 people have been displaced by hostilities in Afrin district in Aleppo Governorate. He also stated that the majority, some 140,000 people, have fled to Tal Refaat and the remainder have gone to Nubul, Zahraa, Menbij and Hassakeh and surrounding areas, which between 50,000 and 70,000 people are estimated still to be in Afrin City.

Lowcock noted that humanitarian access had been possible through Council-mandated cross-border operations, as Turkiye had stated it was positively disposed to such operations, more convoys were soon expected.

"In eastern Ghouta, the Syrian regime and its allies, including the Russian Federation, had trapped hundreds of thousands of civilians, relentlessly continuing their offensive," he said and added that more than 1,700 had been killed in eastern Ghouta since the passage of resolution 2401 (2018) on 24 February.  

Meanwhile, nearly 52,000 civilians had taken refuge in eight shelters in rural Damascus, he said, most of them overcrowded with only limited access to food and medical assistance. (ILKHA)