UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned about the military escalation in northwest Syria and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, said his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric on Monday.
Guterres is alarmed by the scale of the military operation and reported attacks on evacuation routes as civilians try to flee north to safety, said Dujarric in a statement.
The secretary-general reminds all parties of their obligations to protect civilians and ensure freedom of movement, said the statement.
The recent military escalation has resulted in dozens of civilian casualties and the displacement of at least 80,000 civilians, including 30,000 in last week alone, it said.
Sustained, unimpeded and safe humanitarian access to civilians, including through the cross-border modality, must be guaranteed in order to allow the United Nations and its humanitarian partners to continue to carry out their critical work in northern Syria, said the statement.
The UN Security Council on Friday failed to adopt two competing draft resolutions on the cross-border aid mechanism.
The first draft prepared by Belgium, Germany and Kuwait, which seeks the re-authorization of three of the four currently mandated border crossings for 12 months, was vetoed by Russia and China. The other draft, prepared by Russia, which would authorize only two crossings for a period of six months, failed to receive the required number of favorable votes to get adopted.
Since 2014, the United Nations and aid groups have crossed into Syria from Turkey, Iraq and Jordan at four crossing points authorized by the Security Council. The mechanism expires on Jan. 10, 2020.
In Monday's statement, Guterres reiterates that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict and that the only credible solution is a UN-facilitated political process.
