The UN Security Council on Saturday will try again to vote for a temporary ceasefire in Syria after several delays this week.
A draft resolution calls for a 30-day halt in fighting in Syria as government forces have besieged Eastern Ghouta, a rebel-held enclave near the capital, Damascus. The truce would allow for the delivery of emergency aid and the evacuation of the wounded in some of Syria’s hardest-hit areas.
The measure will be put up for a vote at noon ET Saturday, according to Security Council President Mansour Al-Otaibi. A vote was delayed several times Thursday and Friday after other members of the Security Council were unable to convince Russia to agree to a resolution.
Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, was clear in blaming Russia for the lack of action.
“Unbelievable that Russia is stalling a vote on a ceasefire allowing humanitarian access in Syria. How many more people will die before the Security Council agrees to take up this vote?” Haley said Friday on Twitter.
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, called the offensive in Eastern Ghouta a “crime against humanity” in a tweet Saturday, adding that the protection of civilians remains the responsibility of the international community.
More than 400 people have been killed since Sunday in the relentless bombardment of Eastern Ghouta by forces from the Russian-backed Syrian regime.
Around 400,000 people are in hiding as the Damascus suburbs have been pounded with shells, mortars and bombs since Sunday night.
Most of the dead are women, children and the elderly, Dr. Fayez Orabi, head of the enclave’s health department, told CNN in a series of WhatsApp messages.
“It’s difficult to have a precise count because of the internet and communications are weak and the shelling and bombing are 24 hours,” Orabi said. “During writing this message to you more than 20 rockets have fell around us,” he added.