EASTERN GHOUTA: A shocking video from war-torn Syria has surfaced online showing two children fleeing Eastern Ghouta in the night before they were helped by the Syrian Army.
The video, shared by Sputnik, was reportedly sent by the Syrian army to Russian Center for reconciliation of opposing sides.
The footage shows that a girl and a boy managed to escape through the humanitarian corridor on Friday night with army being able to pick them and organize cover as the militants were shooting at them.
In one of the deadliest offensives of the war, government air strikes and bombardment have killed hundreds of people over 12 days in eastern Ghouta, an area of besieged towns and farms that is the last major rebel-controlled area near the capital.
The U.N. Security Council on Saturday called for a 30-day countrywide truce. Russia, which backs the Syrian government in the war, has instead called for daily humanitarian ceasefires from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (0700 GMT to 1200 GMT).
The U.S. State Department on Thursday dismissed Russia’s humanitarian ceasefire plan as“a joke”, saying people were afraid to leave the area through a“humanitarian corridor” because of fear of conscription, exile or death.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid bin Ra’ad al-Hussein, said in an emergency meeting of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council on Friday that events in eastern Ghouta likely included“war crimes and potentially crimes against humanity”.
“Syria must be referred to the International Criminal Court. Attempts to thwart justice and shield these criminals are disgraceful,” he said.
