UN Security Council approves 30-day ceasefire in Syria

The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously approved a resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

However, some of the biggest jihadist rebel groups, and their associates, are not covered by the truce, raising questions about its real impact.

The Eastern Ghouta rebel enclave near Damascus has been bombarded by government forces for the past week.

After the vote in New York, activists said air strikes were continuing.

The vote had been delayed several times since Thursday as members struggled to come to an agreement.

Russia, an ally of Syria’s government, wanted changes, while Western diplomats accused Moscow of stalling for time.

Some 500 people are said to have been killed by government forces in the enclave since last Sunday while rebels fire on Damascus has reportedly killed at least 16 civilians.

The draft had said the ceasefire would not apply to operations against the Islamic State (IS) group, al-Qaeda and the Nusra Front.

The Nusra Front is a former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria which changed its name to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) when it formed an alliance with other militants last year.

After Russia asked for the resolution to include other groups “co-operating with them”, the final text specifies that operations may continue against “individuals, groups, undertakings and entities” associated with IS, al-Qaeda or other groups designated by the Security Council as terrorists.

The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, called for the ceasefire to be implemented immediately but said she was sceptical that Syria would comply.

She accused Russia of having “dragged out the negotiations”. She said: “In the three days it took us to adopt this resolution, how many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and the shelling?”

France’s UN representative, François Delattre, also said the action was very “belated”. On Friday he said failure to act could spell the end of the UN itself.