Nauert labels Russian humanitarian corridor as 'a joke'

WASHINGTON

The accord of the Russian proposal for a five-hours ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta is "a joke," State Department spokesperson said Thursday.

"What needs to happen instead is a nationwide cease-fire that was voted upon unanimously at the United Nations last Saturday," Heather Nauert told reporters at a press briefing. "Fifteen countries supported it, let me remind you. So did Russia."

Nauert said the ceasefire resolution adopted by the UN Security Council (USNC) Saturday is "clearly not working", and more than 100 people were killed since then.

UN Security Council Resolution 2401 was adopted unanimously on Saturday, which calls for a 30-day cease-fire in Eastern Ghouta to allow the delivery of badly-needed humanitarian aid.

However, Russia and the Syrian regime continue shelling the city despite the UN call.

Holding Russia responsible for the continuation of killing civilians in the besieged Damascus suburb and equipping the Syrian-regime military, she urged Moscow to obey the UNSC's humanitarian ceasefire resolution.

The suburb has been under siege for the last five years and humanitarian access to the area, which is home to 400,000 people, has been completely cut off.

In the past eight months, forces of the Assad regime have intensified their siege of Eastern Ghouta, making it nearly impossible for food or medicine to get into the district and leaving thousands of patients in need of treatment.

According to the White Helmets civil defense agency, regime attacks have killed more than 389 people in Eastern Ghouta in the past six days. 

Syria has been locked in a devastating conflict since early 2011 when the regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.

According to UN officials, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict to date.