U.N. humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland hopes that the U.S. will get more involved in Syria.
“I hope that this is a watershed moment,” he said at a meeting in Geneva on April 6.
“With all of these world leaders saying that they have again woken up to the suffering of the civilians that we see every single day …. I hope that it’s a re-birth really for diplomacy, both humanitarian and political. I will continue working, we don’t have the luxury to look away,” he said.
Egeland called for a 72-hour ceasefire to bring food, water, and medical supplies to civilians trapped in embattled areas.
The latest chemical weapons attack by Bashar al-Assad’s government forces has mobilized the United States.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke sternly to Russia about its support for the Syrian regime.
Egeland hopes that with renewed U.S. pressure, Russia might be willing to cooperate to end the war.
Russia has vetoed every Security Council resolution for sanctions on Syria, while also supporting Bashar al-Assad’s government militarily.
The latest gas attack highlighted the fact that most of the victims of Syria’s civil war are civilians.
“So a war where more children and women die than grown armed men is a very dirty war. A war where children suffocate to death because of chemical, toxic chemicals is a very, very dirty war,” Egeland concluded.
UN excited by renewed US interest in Syria
By NTD Newsroom