Bombs Strike Eastern Ghouta Hours After UN Security Council Resolution

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (February 25, 2018)— Bombs continue to strike the besieged Syrian enclave of Eastern Ghouta today, according to Save the Children partners on the ground.

Last night, after days of negotiations, the UN Security Council unanimously voted for a cessation of hostilities and to allow humanitarian access into the area, where food and medicine are running out and child malnutrition has soared to the highest level seen in the Syria crisis so far.

However, after a brief period of relative calm overnight, local aid workers report intense bombing resumed again this morning. Save the Children is calling on UN Security Council members to demand that parties to the conflict fully comply with yesterday’s Resolution, including an immediate start to the ceasefire and unfettered humanitarian access and medical evacuations without delay.

"At first we were optimistic—this morning people were finally out getting fresh air after being stuck in basements for seven days without seeing the sun or light," said an aid worker with Syria Relief, describing families coming out of the underground shelters where thousands of people have been seeking cover from bombing. The bombing has reportedly killed hundreds of civilians in the past week.

"Some people spent these past seven days sitting on the ground… some people had no food to eat for two or three days," he continued. "(So first thing this morning) people went out to take a breather, to see their houses and check on their relatives and get food to eat.

"However, since this morning, military airplanes have been flying in the sky since 7:15. Many areas in Eastern Ghouta are bombed. One person got killed in Madyara, there are injured people, one of the people who is staying in my basement went out for 10 minutes to check his house and on his way a bomb fell less than 10 feet from him."

Another aid worker in Douma, Eastern Ghouta, said: "Now there is bombing just like any other day. There are loud noises coming from the frontlines. The surveillance planes are above our heads, jet fighters and elephant rockets."

"The bombing goes on just hours after the Security Council resolution was passed, and yet again children are back in their underground basements trying to shelter from the violence," said Sonia Khush, Save the Children’s Syria Response Director. "If the negotiations in New York are to mean anything at all to children in Eastern Ghouta, the bombing must end now and vital food and medical supplies must urgently be allowed in. It should not need a UN resolution to ensure that children receive aid, which is an obligation of all parties under international law."

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