The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a 30-day ceasefire resolution in Syria after a relentless bombardment of the country's eastern Ghouta enclave near Damascus that has left hundreds dead.

Saturday's vote, which was supposed to be at noon, was held up by deliberations for two hours and comes after several days of delay.

In a speech following the vote, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley argued that the council is "late to respond to this crisis. Very late."

More than 400 people have been killed since Sunday in bombing raids in eastern Ghouta.

Around 400,000 people are in hiding as the rebel-held suburb crumbles around them after being pounded with shells, mortars and bombs dropped by Russian-backed Syrian regime forces since Sunday night. </s> After multiple delays, the UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria.

The truce would allow for the delivery of emergency aid and the evacuation of the wounded in some of Syria's hardest-hit areas, including the besieged Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus.

Diplomats said Saturday's vote ended up being a bit of a showdown between Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, and her Russian counterpart, Vassily Nebenzia, over the timing of a ceasefire.

The diplomats said the United States fought to keep language in the resolution that called for an immediate start to the ceasefire and unfettered humanitarian access without delay. The Russians kept trying to water it down to delay implementation, the diplomats said.

In the end the Russians relented and the language on an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian access were retained, the diplomats said. They said they are skeptical the Syrian regime will comply but are hopeful the resolution could be a turning point.

Speaking right after the vote, Haley took a jab at Russia, saying the Security Council was late to respond to the crisis.

"On Thursday, in an effort to stall, Russia called for an open meeting on the humanitarian situation in Syria. At that meeting, 14 members of this council were ready to impose a ceasefire. But Russia obstructed the vote again," she said. "And then yesterday (Friday), this council sat around for hours, ready to vote, only to have Russia delay yet again. Every minute this council waited on Russia, the human suffering grew."

Haley said the bombing continued as the negotiations dragged on.

"In the three days it took us to adopt this resolution, how many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and shelling? How many more images did we need to see of fathers holding their dead children? All for nothing, because here we are voting for a ceasefire that could have saved lives days ago."

The death toll soared while diplomatic maneuvering was underway.

More than 520 people have been killed and 2,500 wounded since Sunday in the relentless bombardment of Eastern Ghouta, according to a statement from Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières.

"Our hospital is full, and we already got hit twice," a doctor with the humanitarian organization said Saturday on Twitter.

Syrian activists said the regime fired thousands of artillery shells and rocket fire Friday night and Saturday, including incendiary bombs.

"They were bursting in the sky, and the colors were white and dark orange," said Siraj Mahmoud, a spokesman for the White Helmets rescue group.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said shelling by "incendiary substances" caused fires in Eastern Ghouta.

Around 400,000 people are in hiding as the Damascus suburbs have been pounded with shells, mortars and bombs since Sunday night.

Most of the dead are women, children and the elderly, Dr. Fayez Orabi, head of the enclave's health department, told CNN in a series of WhatsApp messages.

"It's difficult to have a precise count because of the internet and communications are weak and the shelling and bombing are 24 hours," Orabi said. "During writing this message to you more than 20 rockets have fell around us," he added.

Meanwhile, armed rebels in Eastern Ghouta used "dozens of mortar and rocket shells and sniper fire" to target residential neighborhoods in Damascus, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported Saturday.

The attacks injured a number of civilians and caused material damage, according to SANA.

Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, said he hopes the ceasefire will provide a much-needed respite for Ghouta.

"It is important that all sides comply with the terms of the resolution and allow humanitarian aid and medical evacuations. But it is only a small step in the right direction," he said. </s> UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council will vote on Friday on a draft resolution demanding a 30-day truce in Syria to allow aid deliveries and medical evacuations, but it was not immediately clear if the text had won the support of Syrian ally Russia.

The vote comes as warplanes pounded eastern Ghouta, the last rebel enclave near Syria’s capital, for a fifth day running. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Wednesday for an immediate end to “war activities” there.

Russia on Thursday proposed amendments to the resolution drafted by Sweden and Kuwait, arguing that the language was unrealistic and that the 15-member Security Council could not simply impose a truce on Syria without consulting the parties.

It was not immediately clear what changes were made to the text. The council is due to vote at 11 a.m. (1600 GMT) on Friday, said Kuwait’s U.N. mission, president of the council for February.

A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, Britain or France. Russia has cast 11 vetoes on possible Security Council action on Syria since its civil war began in 2011.

Previous attempts at a cessation of hostilities in Syria have quickly unraveled. </s> The United Nations Security Council is expected to try again on Friday to approve a draft resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria.

The cease-fire is meant to allow emergency aid to be delivered and medical evacuations to take place in some of the country's hardest-hit regions, such as Ghouta, the rebel-controlled eastern suburb of the capital, Damascus, which has been pounded by government warplanes for more than a week.

An attempt on Thursday to get such a resolution through the council failed when Syrian government ally Russia, refused to go along. It was not clear whether amendments put forward since then would mollify Moscow's objections.

As Reuters reports: "Russia on Thursday proposed amendments to the resolution drafted by Sweden and Kuwait, arguing that the language was unrealistic and that the 15-member Security Council could not simply impose a truce on Syria without consulting the parties."

Russia's U.N. ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said on Thursday that the proposed resolution was "simply unrealistic."

NPR's Lind Fasulo reports that most Security Council members want the truce to go into effect within 72 hours, but Russia favors language that calls on all sides to halt hostilities "as soon as possible."

To succeed, a resolution would need to garner nine votes on the council and no vetoes from the five permanent members – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.

The death toll in the six-day bombardment of Ghouta is estimated to be more than 400.

The Associated Press notes that "The number of casualties has overwhelmed rescuers and doctors at hospitals, many of which have also been bombed."

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least five people were killed in raids on Hammouriyeh, Zamalka, Douma and al-Marj, according to Reuters.

In a just released report from Amnesty International, the group accuses Russia of having used its Security Council veto nine times "to shield the Syrian government from the consequences of war crimes and crimes against humanity."

"Russia's routine use of its veto had become the equivalent of acquiescence in war crimes, allowing all parties in Syria's conflict to act with impunity, with civilians paying the ultimate price," Amnesty says. </s> The U.N. Security Council has delayed a vote on a demand for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, where pro-government warplanes have been pounding the last rebel bastion near Damascus in one of the deadliest bombing campaigns of the seven-year civil war.

A draft resolution aimed at ending the carnage in the eastern Ghouta district and elsewhere in Syria will be put up for a vote in the 15-member council at noon (1700 GMT) on Saturday, Kuwait’s U.N. Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi said.

The 24-hour delay followed a flurry of last-minute negotiations on the text drafted by Sweden and Kuwait after Russia, a veto-holding ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, proposed new amendments on Friday.

“Unbelievable that Russia is stalling a vote on a ceasefire allowing humanitarian access in Syria,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley posted on Twitter.

Talks have centred on the paragraph demanding a cessation of hostilities for 30 days to allow aid access and medical evacuations. A proposal for the truce to start 72 hours after the resolution’s adoption has been watered-down to instead demand it start “without delay” in a bid to win Russian support.

Diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Moscow does not want to specify when a truce should start. It was not immediately clear how Russia would vote on Saturday. A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, Britain and France to be adopted.

“We’re not going to give up. … I hope that we will adopt something forceful, meaningful, impactful tomorrow,” Olof Skoog, Sweden’s U.N. ambassador, told reporters.

Previous ceasefires, however, have had a poor record of ending fighting in Syria, where Assad’s forces have gained the upper hand.

The towns and farms of eastern Ghouta have been under government siege since 2013, with shortages of food, water and electricity that worsened last year. Earlier on Friday, the densely populated enclave was bombed for a sixth straight day, witnesses said.

The civilian casualties and devastation there are among the worst in Syria since the government captured rebel-held parts of Aleppo in 2016. At least 462 people have been killed, including at least 99 children, and many hundreds injured, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Friday.

Syrian state media reported one person was killed and 58 injured in rebel shelling of sites in Damascus, including a hospital.

Clouding any potential ceasefire is the Syrian government’s frequently used tactic of pushing rebels to surrender their strongholds after long sieges and military offensives.

Insurgents in eastern Ghouta have vowed not to accept such a fate, ruling out an evacuation of fighters, their families and other civilians of the kind that ended rebellions in Aleppo and Homs after heavy bombardment in earlier years.

“We refuse categorically any initiative that includes getting the residents out of their homes and moving them elsewhere,” Ghouta rebel factions wrote in a letter to the Security Council.

Eastern Ghouta has 400,000 people spread over a larger area than other enclaves the government has recaptured. Late on Thursday, government aircraft dropped leaflets urging civilians to depart and hand themselves over to the Syrian army, marking corridors through which they could leave safely.

Leading up to the Security Council vote, all eyes have been on Russia. Moscow has a history of standing in the way of Security Council measures that would harm Assad’s interests.

Germany and France were among the nations to ratchet up the pressure on Russia, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to support the resolution.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow wanted guarantees that rebel fighters will not shoot at residential areas in Damascus.

Damascus and Moscow say they only target militants. They have said their main aim is to stop rebel shelling of the capital, and have accused insurgents in Ghouta of holding residents as human shields.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government planes and artillery hit Douma, Zamalka and other towns across the enclave in the early hours of Friday.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military.

Medical charities say more than a dozen hospitals were hit, making it nearly impossible to treat the wounded.

A witness in Douma who asked not to be identified said by telephone that the early morning bombing was the most intense so far. Another resident, in the town of Hamouriyeh, said the assault had continued “like the other days.”

“Whenever the bombing stops for some moments, the Civil Defence vehicles go out to the targeted places. They work to remove the debris from the road,” Bilal Abu Salah said.

The Civil Defence there said its rescuers rushed to help the wounded after strikes on Hamouriyeh and Saqba. The emergency service, which operates in rebel territory, says it has pulled hundreds of people out from under rubble in recent days.

Hamza Birqdar, the military spokesman for the Jaish al-Islam rebel faction, said it had thwarted nine attacks by pro-government militias trying to storm a front in the southeast of Ghouta. </s> The United Nations Security Council on Saturday rejected a Russian-drafted resolution urging a ceasefire in Aleppo after Moscow vetoed a rival measure calling for an end to the bombing of the Syrian city.

The measure was defeated by a vote of nine against, including Britain, France and the United States, four in favor and two abstentions in the 15-member council. </s> The U.N. Security Council on Saturday demanded a 30-day truce across Syria as rescuers in the country’s eastern Ghouta region said bombing had not let up long enough for them to count bodies during one of the bloodiest air assaults of the seven-year war.

Shortly after the unanimous vote by the 15-member council, warplanes struck a town in eastern Ghouta, the last rebel enclave near Syria’s capital, an emergency service and a war monitoring group said. Warplanes have pounded the region for seven straight days while residents holed up in basements.

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres appealed on Wednesday for an immediate end to “war activities” in eastern Ghouta, where nearly 400,000 people have lived under government siege since 2013, without enough food or medicine.

While Syrian ally Russia supported the adoption of the U.N. resolution, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia cast doubt on its feasibility. Previous ceasefire deals on the ground have had a poor record of ending fighting in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad’s military has gained the upper hand.

“What is necessary is for the demands of the Security Council to be underpinned by concrete on the ground agreements,” Nebenzia told the council after the vote. He later told reporters it was unrealistic to expect an immediate ceasefire and that the parties had to be encouraged to work for it.

After several days of delay and last-minute negotiations to win the support of Russia, the council adopted the resolution – drafted by Sweden and Kuwait – demanding hostilities cease for 30-days “without delay” to allow aid access and medical evacuations.

“We accept that it might take a number of hours before it can all be fully implemented … we just have to keep the pressure up, implementation is key now,” Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom told Reuters.

Russia did not want to specify when a truce would start, so a proposal for the truce to begin 72 hours after adoption was watered-down to demand it start “without delay.” Further talks on Saturday added a demand for all parties to “engage immediately to ensure full and comprehensive implementation.”

“As they dragged out the negotiation, the bombs from Assad’s fighter jets continued to fall. In the three days it took us to adopt this resolution, how many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and shelling?” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the council.

“We are deeply skeptical that the (Syrian) regime will comply,” Haley said.

A surge of rocket fire, shelling and air strikes has killed more than 500 people since Sunday night, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The dead included more than 120 children.

The monitor said raids hit Douma, Zamalka and other towns there on Saturday, killing 40 people.

After the U.N. vote the two dominant rebel factions in Ghouta – Failaq al-Rahman and Jaish al-Islam – both committed to implement the truce and facilitate aid access, but also reiterated their right to respond to any attacks on them.

Medical charities have decried attacks on a dozen hospitals. The Syrian government and Russia say they only target terrorists. Moscow and Damascus have said they seek to stop mortar attacks injuring dozens in the capital, and have accused insurgents in Ghouta of holding people as human shields.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military.

“We’re combating terrorism on our territories,” Syrian U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari told the Security Council. “Our government will reserve the right to respond as it deems appropriate in case those terrorist arms groups are targeting civilians in any part of Syria with even one single missile.”

Ja’afari said his government interpreted the resolution as also applying to “Turkish forces in Afrin, and the operations of the anti-ISIL (Islamic State) coalition in Syria … Israeli forces in Syria, especially the occupied Syrian Golan.”

The truce demanded by the Security Council does not cover militants from Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and the Nusra Front.

First responders searched for survivors after strikes on Kafr Batna, Douma and Harasta, the Civil Defence in eastern Ghouta said on Saturday. The rescue service, which operates in rebel territory, said it had documented at least 350 deaths in four days earlier this week.

“Maybe there are many more,” said Siraj Mahmoud, a civil defense spokesman in the suburbs. “We weren’t able to count the martyrs yesterday because the warplanes are touring the skies.”

As the bombs rain down, workers have struggled to pull people from the rubble, Mahmoud said. “But if we have to go out running on our legs and dig with our hands to rescue the people, we will still be here.”

The local opposition council said it was setting up emergency volunteer teams in several districts to reinforce shelters with sandbags and try to link them through tunnels.

Several previous ceasefire attempts have quickly unraveled during the multi-sided conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands and forced 11 million people out of their homes.

Syrian state media said Ghouta factions fired mortars at districts of Damascus on Saturday, including near a school. Insurgent shelling wounded six people, it said, and the army heavily pounded militant targets in response.

The Ghouta pocket has become the war’s latest flashpoint, after a string of rebel defeats and negotiated withdrawals. With Russian jets and Iran-backed militias, Assad’s military has restored state rule over the main cities across western Syria.

Insurgents in eastern Ghouta have vowed not to accept such a fate, ruling out the kind of evacuation that ended rebellion in Aleppo and Homs after bitter sieges.

Russia has blamed Nusra fighters, from al-Qaida’s former Syria branch, for provoking the situation in Ghouta. The two main Islamist factions there in turn accuse their enemies of using the presence of a few hundred jihadist fighters as a pretext for attacks. </s> After several days of tense behind-the-scenes negotiations, the UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution proposing a 30-day humanitarian ceasefire in Syria.

“It would be naive to think that internal Syrian questions can be solved by a resolution,” said Russia’s Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia, who said Moscow “supported the intentions” behind the document, but that no ceasefire was possible “without agreement from warring parties.”

Nebenzia criticized the “occupational ambitions” of the US-backed coalition, and said that foreign-backed militias bore responsibility for the humanitarian crisis that the resolution, adopted by 15 votes to none, was written to address.

He also restated earlier accusations that the West was conducting a “propaganda campaign” against the government forces in Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, where fighting has intensified over the past week.

The UN Security Council was to vote on the resolution proposed by Sweden and Kuwait on Friday, but the 15-member body faced intense diplomatic negotiations, with the Russian delegation seeking amendments to the document. Moscow argued that the initial text was “utopian” as the US-led coalition in Syria does not provide any guarantees that militants controlling the area would observe the ceasefire.

The Russian side has also stressed that the real goal of the document was to pin the blame for the escalation of violence on the Syrian government and potentially prepare the ground for regime change. </s> WASHINGTON, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council on Saturday unanimously adopted a resolution welcoming a ceasefire in the Syrian civil war brokered by Russia and Turkey.

Russia and Turkey announced the ceasefire this week, the third truce this year seeking to end the nearly six years of war in Syria.

The resolution also welcomes plans for talks to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan between the Syrian government and the opposition, ahead of the resumption of U.N.-brokered talks in Geneva in February.

In remarks after the vote, several delegates on the Security Council welcomed the ceasefire but said the agreement contained gray areas and that its implementation was fragile.
The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire in Syria.