Russia Will Consider UN Ceasefire In Syria

Cover: people get a wounded man into an ambulance in Damascus, in Syria. (Picture: PA)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Moscow will consider supporting a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Syria if it does not cover fighters from the Islamic State group and the al Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee.

Mr Lavrov's statement comes amid a dire humanitarian crisis in the eastern suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus.

Syrian opposition activists and paramedics reported a fresh round of violence on Thursday as the bombing in rebel-held eastern Ghouta left 13 people dead.

Mr Lavrov said in comments relayed by Russian news agencies that Russia is proposing the wording for the UN resolution that would exclude IS, the al Qaida-linked group as well as unspecified "groups that co-operate with them and systematically shell residential areas of Damascus".

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier urged an immediate suspension of "all war activities" in eastern Ghouta, where he said 400,000 people are living "in hell on earth."

The UN chief said a suspension of fighting must allow for humanitarian aid to reach all in need and the evacuation of some 700 people needing urgent medical treatment. He said: 

"This is a human tragedy that is unfolding in front of our eyes and I don't think we can let things go on in this horrendous way." 

US ambassador Nikki Haley supported the UN chief saying "it is time for us to realise that we can't continue to look away."

The bombing campaign has targeted hospitals, apartment blocks and other civilian sites, killing and wounding hundreds of people in recent days.

The bombardment has forced many among the nearly 400,000 residents to sleep in basements and makeshift shelters, and has overwhelmed rescue workers who have spent days digging out survivors from the wreckage of bombed buildings.

Syrian government forces supported by Russian aircraft have shown no signs of letting up their aerial and artillery assault on eastern Ghouta since they stepped up strikes late on Sunday as part of a new, determined push to recapture the territory that has been controlled by rebels since 2012.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which closely monitors the fighting through activists on the ground, said at least 300 people have been killed since Sunday night alone. The dead included 10 people killed in a new wave of strikes on Wednesday on the town of Kafr Batna.

The opposition's Syrian Civil Defence search-and-rescue group, also known as the White Helmets, reported similar numbers, saying government forces targeted the town with air strikes, artillery fire and barrel bombs.