We remind that the current resolution calls for an end to attacks on civilians, lifting of the siege and the evacuation of medical cases, have already been covered by several previous Security Council resolutions

Referring to the recent Security Council resolution calling for a one-month truce in Syria and allowing the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged areas, especially Eastern Ghouta and medical evacuations,

1. The Syria Civil Defence welcomes this decision and expresses the readiness of its teams in Eastern Ghouta to provide all necessary assistance to facilitate the implementation of the resolution as required within the functions and capabilities of the organisation.

1. We remind that the current resolution calls for an end to attacks on civilians, lifting of the siege and the evacuation of medical cases, have already been covered by several previous Security Council resolutions, and have not been respected. Therefore, we renew the call for immediate implementation and the establishment of clear and decisive accountability measures against anyone who violates international resolutions or impede its implementation.

1. We note that the raids of the Syrian regime against the civilians in Al-Ghouta continued during the deliberations of the Security Council and immediately after the resolution was issued, where our teams are now responding to the recent raid on the city of Douma.

1. We call on the United Nations to send its competent teams immediately and without delay to Eastern Ghouta to review the humanitarian situation and to examine the places and victims targeted by the brutal bombing of the Assad regime over the past few days, especially the hospitals and civil defense centers.

1. The duration of the truce is only one month. If it is implemented, it does not end the nightmare of the civilians trapped in Ghouta. It threatens a new wave of violence. We therefore urge that the Security Council extend the resolution and take all necessary measures to ensure the protection of Syrian civilians and the preservation of their right to live safely in their homes and cut off any attempts to expel them from their land.

6 - The amount of destruction caused by the recent military campaign on the Ghouta is huge, and dozens of bodies of victims remain under the rubble, which we are working on recovering under near impossible conditions, and medical facilities and civil defense centers have been severely damaged and are in dire need of compensation for what has been destroyed and consumed of materials and equipment. Therefore, we call upon the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to assume its responsibilities in accordance with Security Council resolutions, to provide the necessary assistance and facilities and to immediately report any obstacles to access by humanitarian aid.

May martyrs rest in peace and may wounded be healed.

25 Feb 2018

Syria Civil Defense