UN chief calls Syrian government and allies to comply with laws of war

Baku. 14 December. REPORT.AZ/ UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Syrian government and its allies - Russia and Iran - to "urgently allow the remaining civilians to escape" Aleppo and facilitate humanitarian aid access. Report informs citing the UN News Centre.

Briefing the UN Security Council at a meeting on Aleppo, Ban Ki-moon said that as a result of intense fighting, only five percent of the territory controlled by armed opposition in eastern part of the city.

The UN chief noted that the bombing resulted in deaths of dozens of civilians and mass executions were accompanied by pro-government forces. "We have seen the shocking footage of burning people in streets, presumably after the bombing from the air. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights received reports that in four areas of the city, civilians were gathered, including women and children, and executed ", - said Ban Ki-moon. He noted that there is no reliable information about the number of people in a small area of the eastern part of Aleppo, which is still controlled by the opposition in the UN. Syrian authorities do not allow UN staff to access to the war zone.

UN Secretary-General expressed concern about the tragedy unfolding in the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo. He urged to stop the massacre and called on the Syrian government and its allies, Russia and Iran, to fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law: to allow the remaining civilians to leave the combat zone and to allow humanitarian organizations access to those in need.