Fighting has only worsened in Syria in the week since the United Nations called for a month-long ceasefire, the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Damascus warned Monday. The UN made an urgent plea last Tuesday for warring sides in Syria to temporarily lay down their arms to allow for aid deliveries to desperate civilians. The UN Security Council failed to back the appeal last week but was to consider a new draft on a 30-day pause on Monday.
Hours before the talks, the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Syria, Ali al-Zaatari, renewed the plea. "Since our statement of 6 February, when the UN representatives in Syria called for a one-month cessation of hostilities, the situation has worsened," Zaatari said in an emailed statement. "We are witnessing some of the worst fighting of the entire conflict, with reports of hundreds of civilian deaths and injuries, massive displacement and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities," he added. Over the past week, Syrian government planes have pounded the opposition-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, as rebels fired rockets and mortars down on the capital.