rami, what are you hearing from people inside guta? what are they saying about the use of these weapons? >> honestly, christiane, we are somewhat pushed to advertise an idea that we worry about chemical weapons when, if you look at the statistics in syria, the realities, anyone that lives in syria, chemical weapons have not been the majority of threats that have threatened the lives of syrians. we saw -- i mean, this area that we're talking about right now, that is facing this offensive, in august 2013, 1,300 people were killed in a matter of nutes using chemical weapons. they're isolated incidents to remind the syrian people we are capable of using such weapons and reminding there's no one to protect them. the truth is in syria, if you look at the numbers, over half a million people have been killed in syria. that wasn't being done with chemical weapons, that wasn't being done using gas. the truth is, in syria, when the united states makes a statement and says that we're not going to allow you to use chemical weapons and sign a deal w

critical that the assad regime and its allies comply with our demand to stop the assault on eastern guta and immediately allow food and medicine to reach everyone who need to all of us on this council must do our part to press the assad regime as hard as we can to comply we are deeply skeptical that the regime will comply but we supported this resolution because we must demand nothing less now we also heard from the representative of the russian federation now he addressed the security council and he emphasized that the fight against terrorism is not affected by this resolution that internationally delegated terrorist groups groups like al nusra and isis that the fight against them is not restricted by this resolution of that fight will continue he also had some concerns about how the fight against terrorism seem to be serving some other goals a. game of battling terrorism can't become a cover for solving geo political problems of dubious legitimacy and that is exactly what the u.s. is doing in syria right now we insist that the so-called coalition and its attempts and occupation as soon

it's an enclave of rebels and terrorist forces now there's been increasing hostilities and eastern guta as the syrian government is fighting to retake the city from terrorist russia was responding to some of the very heated words and accusations we heard from other countries in the chamber in the lead up to his remarks systematic targeting of civilians in disregard for human life attacks against health care and hospitals constitute crimes the regime wants to keep bombing and gassing these four hundred thousand people and the assad regime is counting on russia to make sure the security council is unable to stop their suffering while in his remarks to the fifteen member body in the bed he was very clear that situations in eastern guta are rather dire however the situation is much more complex than it's being made out to be that essentially civilians are being used as human shields by the terrorists he pointed out that some of the more extreme allegations being made against russia and syria are being made by the forces that just leveled the city of raka the u.s. led coalition leveled syria

people killed with fifty one people being injured by attacks launched against damascus from eastern guta so at this point the resolution was passed calling for a thirty day cease fire now after the unanimous vote we then heard from various countries we heard from nikki haley of the united states and she said she doesn't believe the syrian government will actually comply with the cease fire. it is critical that the assad regime and its allies comply with our demand to stop the assault on eastern guta and immediately allow food and medicine to reach everyone who need to all of us on this council must do our part to press the assad regime as hard as we can to comply we are deeply skeptical that the regime will comply but we supported this resolution because we must demand nothing less. now we also heard from the representative of the russian federation now he had dressed the security council and he emphasized that the fight against terrorism is not affected by this resolution that internationally delegated terrorist groups groups like al nasra i says that the fight against them is not restr

shortly after a russian sponsored humanitarian pause came into force in syria's eastern guta as the u.s. state department. and the syrian government. russia is certainly not its hearing to this cease fire they are not adhering to the cease fire because they continue to sponsor and back to shar all assad's government violence in the rubble and terrorists hell damascus escalated earlier this month with both sides accusing each other of targeting civilians the un security council unanimously adopted a month long cease fire resolution all across the country additionally russia was also sponsored a five hour daily truce to help civilians escape the fighting in eastern guta however terrorists showed the humanitarian corridor according to russia's defense ministry which try to help to set up the route before it was attacked just minutes later not a single civilian was able to leave the enclave on tuesday and the u.s. state department accuses russia of paying too much attention to one of the last terrorist hotbeds in syria. i find it ironic when russia calls for a humanitarian road a humanitari

to understand the situation at school they put forward the idea that their only hospitals in eastern guta which the syrian army are fighting against will continue to work to bring peace and stability to syria and calls on other countries to do the same rather than creating havoc supporting the hardest and so in the region apart. now what we just heard was the russian ambassador to the united nations responding to what he characterized as a smear campaign now the meeting was called in response to the situation in eastern do. now this is a suburb of damascus located to the east of damascus and at this point it's an enclave of rebels and terrorist forces now there's been increasing hostilities in eastern guta as the syrian government is fighting to retake the city from terrorist russia was responding to some of the very heated words and accusations we heard from other countries in the chamber in the lead up to his remarks systematic targeting of civilians in disregard for human life the last twenty two years old with a wife who is five months pregnant a louse as we are waiting our turn to di

prepares for another round of crisis talks on syria's rebel held eastern guta as russia announces the international community of double standards. russian lawmakers consider tougher penalties for child sex abuse as more harrowing allegations emerge from an orphanage in the city of chile. one gold one silver and a failed doping test and a ticket to the men's hockey fun in seoul goes been a hectic day for russia's athletes at the winter games. but take a tour around the olympics host city too with no less than donald trump and kim jong il on what kind of any. i think shooting two out international with me kevin and it's just turned three pm this friday the twenty third of february. first russia's ambassador to the un is calling on all warring sides factions in syria's rebel held region of eastern goo to cease hostilities addressing the security council of a silly bandz are also criticized the way the international media and the foreign powers have been representing the situation in the enclave. there is a massive psychosis in the mainstream media which is spreading same rumors day after

is there any actual improvement in the humanitarian situation in eastern guta since the passage of the resolution demanding as it did unimpeded access. well those were the comments of mark local who's the humanitarian chief of the united nations a pretty clear and now the russians will get their chance to make their point. of the russian ambassador is now addressing the security council and the secretary general mr local and under secretary general mr feltman and incidentally i would i think the opportunity to meet the ask of mr lowcock from where does the u.n. receive information. well you about one of those dead for example is that in damascus according to the syrian authorities information for example from twenty two january february into what twelve people died in damascus and the u.n. says eleven in all the entire month holy whore providing you with the info the information is at the white helmets who are providing you with this information. the u.s. delegation today as is customary recently focused the entire statement on the russian federation. and reported that they know what w

scenes go on happening in this horrendous way as the outrage grows over the bloodbath in syria's eastern guta russia calls for an emergency un security council meeting. also dozens of nigerian schoolgirls affair to have been abducted after an attack on their school bible koran. and al jazeera joins green peace signs that launches an expedition to protect the antarctic. the company welcome to al-jazeera there's been an outpouring of anger and frustration at a meeting between the u.s. president and students and families affected by last week's deadly school shooting in florida donald trump pleas for reform and there's responded with his own ideas including arming teachers castro has more from washington d.c. . a meeting with the president dominated by emotions and raw pain i'm very angry that this happened because it keeps happening nine eleven happened once and they fix everything how many schools how many children have to get shot. it stops here with the cid ministration and me this man's daughter was shot nine times at stillman douglas high school in florida last week this student lost his f

days is meant to allow a window for much needed aid to be let into besieged areas including east and guta it would also allow medical evacuations while in a moment we'll get the latest on the situation in eastern guta but first our diplomatic editor james bays has more from the united nations for a third day diplomats worked frantically to get a resolution for a cease fire on syria ambassador and he got an agreement with the russians now. today we're going to see if russia has a conscience the russian ambassador conferred with his syrian counterpart who's government has continued without rest by the bombardment of eastern puter even as the negotiations dragged on diplomats have been working around the clock exhausted frustrated and in some cases angry most of the discussions focusing on the exact wording of one paragraph in the end they agreed to a place an immediate cease fire with one that comes into force without delay it meant they could vote. it was unanimous but they didn't seem to be much unity in the chamber. every minute the council waited on russia the human suffering group gett

food would be and there are only hospitals in eastern guta which the tsunami employ them against what we just heard was the russian ambassador to the united nations responding to what he characterized as a smear campaign now the meeting was called in response to the situation in eastern guta that is a suburb of damascus located to the east of damascus and at this point it's an enclave of rebels and terrorist forces now there's been increasing hostilities and eastern guta as the syrian government is fighting to retake the city from terrorist russia was responding to some of the very heated words and accusations we heard from other countries in the chamber in the lead up to his remarks systematic targeting of civilians and sheer disregard for human life attacks against health and hospitals constitute crimes the regime wants to keep bombing and gassing these four hundred thousand people and the assad regime is counting on russia to make sure the security council is unable to stop their suffering while in his remarks to the fifteen member body in the bed he was very clear that situations

is there any actual improvement in the humanitarian situation in eastern guta since the passage of the resolution demanding as it did unimpeded access. marlo caulk the humanitarian chief of the united nations who coordinates all humanitarian agencies there again making it clear that he has the supplies ready to go to get to eastern ghouta and make it clear the information he has right now here in new york is that no aid has got in and there have been no medical evacuations that he has had confirmed at this stage she read out a long list of questions he said he'd received in recent days and you heard the answers there it was pretty grim he ended his security council briefing with a simple question two members of the security council who are now in turn speaking in fact the french ambassador is speaking at the moment we'll be waiting for this meeting the most important speaker many memories will be the russian ambassador who be speaking towards the end of the meeting the question he asked all the fifteen ambassadors is when will your resolution be implemented a good question to ask james

government troops have launched a new ground and air offensive in the rebel held on claim of east and guta just hours after the u.n. security council agreed to demand a cease fire a pro-government video shows syrian forces moving towards the area. on the outskirts of damascus it's been on the heavy bombardment by the government and its allies including russia at least five hundred people have been killed just in the past week let's get a better idea of the area we're talking about encompasses the eastern suburbs of damascus revolution. that can reach the center of damascus a victory there as a big government priority to rebel groups hostile to each other control different sections of the enclave along with several smaller groups government forces have tried to enter by using the homs to damascus highway and also at. now he's joining us live from the turkish city of near the border with syria so what's the latest that you're hearing about the offensive and the resistance to it . what is the most intense fighting that we've seen on the ground in eastern. in the last seven days we've heard re

security council resolution that's calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in eastern guta close to the syrian capital damascus russians put forward several amendments delaying the vote until later today meanwhile this been more bombing by a sit in forces in eastern guta human rights monitors say government shelling has killed more than four hundred people since sunday including many children it's one of the bloodiest episodes of syria's seventy a conflict there. what they're going to go even for those surrounded by day it is a crushing moment. for a father who talks his child one last time. for city is victims there is no dignity in dying so you should salute. and for syria's government there is no relenting every minute bombs are dropped. monitored groups say more than four hundred men women and children have been killed since sunday homes and hospitals obliterated leaving doctors to handle matters of life and there amid the ruins. we had to do one of the operations under the rubble. because we couldn't evacuate we had to do it under the rubble or how does our office for the health pr

well chancellor merkel just called on syria to end the massacre of its own people in eastern guta are you satisfied with her state or. no one now it's obvious that there are is the biggest bloodshed in the history of this war we've had a lot of math rossi's and it's not enough just to say that fear or condemning it she said that germany is going to try i have been the road there no idea what she's talking about i want to see the consequences and the most important thing in these days is to know that there are three things that has been treated resolutions of the united nations security council being a food by the russians to talking about is besieged besieged locations being liberated and about humanitarian aid for those people or tell its about the russians to deliver in these days i want i would love to see my chance to talking about that addressing the russian side and asking him if they are ready to take the responsibility for their own vote in the security council listen or put what prospects do you see for a negotiated settlement in the syrian civil war. now at the end of today

arabic correspondent was only reports on the latest developments in eastern guta. how much any account it's the second day of the truce we haven't seen any civilians walking through the corridor it's known that there are many civilians who want to flee the enclave to leave it through the one and only corridor open for civilians from guta however militants prevent civilians from exiting and don't allow them to leave guta through the evacuation route to reach the road to damascus the militant positions are just three or four hundred meters from the corridor or near the campus are offered in the syrian government has distributed leaflets a monster brilliance of the militant controlled and place with detailed information and a map on how to get into the area under government control we can see that everything is ready here to receive civilians and to deal with any difficulty monetary and situation. professor of political sociology dr saeed saadiq says it's the u.s. that's fueling tensions in syria by supplying weapons to various armed groups. for always playing was fir

of international pressure mounts on syria to end the bombing in eastern guta. and i don't understand why i could still go in a store and buy a weapon of war. survivors and families of victims of the florida school shooting express their anger and sadness. plus how free movement in the west african nations is laying the foundation for a strong economy. twenty seventeen was one of the darkest years for human rights in recent history that's according to a new report by amnesty international it covers a state of human rights in almost one hundred sixty countries and in a direct criticism of the trumpet ministration the group unveiled its findings in the u.s. for the first time has it culhane has more from washington d.c. . a bleak assessment on the state of human rights in twenty seventeen they will not look back and draw any lessons from this they will look back and they will see that they will. all of the drafting of some of the dockers chapters in modern history the forward of the four hundred page report takes aim at specific countries first and foremost me and

russia has also sponsored a five hour daily truce to help civilians or scrape the violence in eastern guta however the terrorists shelled at the humanitarian corridor that was set up for this that's according to russia's defense ministry which had helped establish the route before it was attacked just minutes later not a single civilian was able to leave the enclave on tuesday with the russian sponsored truce now into its second day russia's top diplomat has stressed that militants are still disrupting the humanitarian operation hey deal with this year should be. explored still because the militants entrenched in ghouta continue to show damascus what's preventing a deliveries in the evacuation of people who want to leave we call in the members of the so-called american coalition the same humanitarian access to areas in syria under their control including the refugee camp and the entire territory surrounding . all comparisons are now being drawn between the ongoing liberation of eastern ghouta and the former militant enclave of aleppo when twenty sixteen t.-z. kurdish down off takes a close

security council was very clear that everyone agreed that the life of civilians in eastern guta was was of top concern however there were clear differences about who is to blame and that certain countries felt as if the situation was just squarely on the shoulders of syria and russia there was disagreement on a centrally what what the russian ambassador characterized as a smear campaign against russia. the u.n. earlier called for an end to the fighting in eastern good calling the rebel enclave hell on earth earlier we spoke to a representative of doctors without borders about the situation there. so we have six be supported and. three seats i hope to nations in the last few days. overthrow markets and the number of wounded people has increased dramatically in the last. few days reported thirteen hundred people wounded. two hundred. seventy people. but the biggest problem for the moment the ones that still function is. supplies as long as the fighting just going on a medical supply so some sort of agreement that. these medicines and especially i repeat surgical supplies in a static can e

resolution which have delayed the vote until now it wants guarantees that rebel fighters in eastern guta will respect a cease fire. these crackling bright lights have all the hallmarks of a firework display. but they're designed to devastate not celebrate activists say they are proof that the syrian government is firing indiscriminately cluster bombs into built up residential areas. and after a fair night of regime pounding this rebel held passion much like this. the grieving here takes place amid the search for life. well out of. nine knew he would go. i told his grandmother he would go. he didn't want to continue living in terror. i wish it had been me who was killed instead of my son. you know i wish it had been me who was killed so i wouldn't have to grieve for you my son nor the lot of you would go no go although. some have lost hope others cling to it. the work of first responders here made ever harder by treacherous conditions and the lack of medical supplies. as death rains down from above and while the powers are still arguing about how to stop it. this special envoy for syria s

activists say minutes after the deal with struck government will planes bombed a sudden guta yet again. well i'm joined by allan mark donald in a mob in the middle east folks and for save the children alan you are in close contact with people in eastern guta has there been any change following the security council votes so at the moment people we've spoken to said that it's really just an illusion that this morning people who are looking forward to. peace will say that they like the shelters where they've been hiding underground for the past week trying to get bombing and people want to check their homes to check their relatives see if people are ok but then pretty soon afterwards just a couple of hours afterwards. the bombing started again and i was just thinking somebody just twenty minutes ago he was saying that the bombing is still going on at the moment. so the bombing has continued how is that then affecting your work there there's essentially no change. so. it's incredibly important and urgent that we're able to get a. it's been very little internationally getting in there for y

be killed the russian defense ministry also said that according to its sources the groups in eastern guta preparing to use chemical weapons to provoke a reaction from the international community against the assad government and political science professor mike get both ross says the violence is unlikely to end soon it's naive to say we have to stop the violence overnight and cease fire overnight simply because all the parties involved have interest to continue on with this violence there is groups have instructions to is can lead to violence. terrorist groups in this day of this they are so desperate that's why i can't believe that they can use chemical weapons as the last chord on the table still to come here on r.t. the king of spain's visit to barcelona has pumped up the debate on both sides of the fence independence or unity will address the issues in a moment. hey everybody i'm stephen ball task hollywood guy you know suspects every proud american first of all i'm just george bush in our view to say this is my buddy max famous financial guru just a little bit different i'm honest. yo

agreed on by the fifteen member body that leads the united nations regarding the situation in eastern guta this is an enclave to the east of the syrian capital of damascus and it's a place that's under the control of rebels and terrorists that are working to overthrow the syrian government since twenty thirteen it has been surrounded by government forces and the fighting there has recently intensified and we're hearing allegations against both sides about human life being taken about civilians being killed we're hearing accusations from the syrian observatory for human rights which is based in the united kingdom they're saying that that syria with the support of russia is hurting civilians and committing atrocities against civilians we've also heard reports from the russian center for reconciliation in syria they are pointing out that the area is essentially being used to shell civilians in damascus furthermore they're reporting that the terrorist groups in eastern guta are working actively to prevent the medical aid from getting to civilians and they're using these civilians as human shie

if it were put to a vote for there to be a cease fire across the whole country not just in eastern guta that would allow for humanitarian deliveries and a and watching all of this our diplomatic editor james bays joins us from the u.n. headquarters does it look like we might finally see a vote james. i think it's highly likely that we're going to see a vote in the next few minutes in the security council in fact the majority of the security council ambassadors are now they're in the chamber they have been again negotiating in the couple of hours that they were supposed to have been meeting and the meeting didn't start on time because russia still had problems with the draft resolution the swedish ambassador you see him that is the one that's been leading much of the negotiations trying to bridge the gap between the russians and much of the rest of the security council working along with the president of the security council who is the kuwaiti. we understand they now have having gone back and forth on the first main paragraph of the resolution that's been the sticking point about the tim

guta is just outside damascus a rebel held area that includes the eastern suburbs of the capital. making it close enough for rebels to fire mortars into central damascus and for syrian forces to deliver a devastating response. since february eighteenth government forces have targeted a series of densely populated towns in the area the u.n. says there are nearly four hundred thousand people there that includes rebel fighters but most are civilians for days in a strike some bombardments of forced families and children into underground shelters we can't do anything we can't even go outside to get food. some of the weaponry being used is designed to target underground hiding places this video shot by an activist in the region on wednesday appears to show helicopters dropping vacuum bombs with their signature parachutes al jazeera can't confirm these are vacuum bombs but one weapons expert we spoke to says he's ninety nine percent sure they are this weapon creates a pressurized shockwave and a vacuum rupturing lungs and other internal organs that's if the target doesn't die in the init

there are clear disagreements among world leaders about who is to blame for the situation in eastern guta many western officials have been extremely vocal against the syrian operation in eastern guta but russia and others have long accused them of double standards particularly off to the west muted response to the campaign to liberate the iraqi city of mosul from islamic state which also had a devastating impact on civilians. by the escalation and strikes me humanitarian disaster systematic targeting of civilians this is how on us ongoing slaughter of trap civilians it's about the focus of the syrian government as well and we cool because including russia to make sure that this violence stops. in iraq and in syria people are much more accepting that because it's clear their city being liberated they understand what they were suffering civilians will get caught in the crossfire civilians will get hurt civilians will get killed if you want to liberate your towns and cities it comes at a price but unavoidable part of war and commanders have to press on despite that responsibility for civilia

also in syria the shelling intensifies in eastern guta monitors say more than two hundred fifty people have been killed in the damascus suburbs since sunday. also on the program promoting your film at the belly not a means for lots of early morning press calls for books like act three walking phoenix didn't get that memo again director gus van sant teamed up to answer questions about their new film a contender for the festival's top prize to bring you all the details. hello i'm terry march and good to have you with us. in syria government backed troops have entered a free and a kurdish enclave in the north of the country turkey is preparing to lay siege to the city as part of an offensive against kurdish militia it be used as terrorists and a security threat but the arrival of troops backed by damascus is stoking fears of a confrontation with turkey that could further complicate syria's bitter civil war . pro syrian government forces chant unity slogans after entering the northern enclave of offering they've come to help kurdish fighters resist the turkish offensive which began a month

and different representatives in mainstream media at this point the rebels and terrorists in eastern guta are using the area to stage attacks and shelling against the highly densely populated civilian areas of damascus and we actually heard russia's president vladimir putin comment on the situation this is what he said. it's really new especially when you know where the fish are and you look unfortunately there are lots of extremist forces in the east and the result is a range of terror organizations recognize why the un shelling is continually coming from that area and on some days the number of missile strikes and moved to charlotte which is fifty to eighty they even reached the territory of the russian embassy should we tolerate this indefinitely of course not. now the humanitarian situation is dire and all parties agree on that no one disagrees about the fact that people are suffering but what was pointed out by the representative of russia to the security council was that essentially these people are being prevented from leaving people in eastern guta civilians are being prevented fr

the us most powerful body prepares for another round of crisis talks on syria's rebel held eastern guta as russia accuses the international community of double standards. russian lawmakers consider tougher penalties for child sex abuse as more how rowing allegations of match from an orphanage in the city of. ask a further polarizes american society control with both sides suggesting radically different security. first olympic gold for the winter games and another two teenage friends. take a tour around the olympics. with the stories we're tracking this hour first for you russia's u.n. ambassador is calling on all warring sides in syria's rebel held region of eastern ghouta to cease hostilities addressing the security council vasoline a benzo also criticized the way the international media and foreign powers have been reflecting the situation in the wrong place. there is a massive psychoses in the mainstream media which is spread in same room as day after day she doesn't help to understand the situation it's a. good book food would be ideal but there are only hospitals and eastern ghouta

security council was very clear that everyone agreed that the life of civilians in eastern guta was was of top concern however there were clear differences about who was to blame and that certain countries felt as if these this situation was just squarely on the shoulders of syria and russia there was disagreement on on a centrally what what the russian ambassador characterized as a smear campaign against russia the u.n. earlier called for an end to the fighting in eastern good calling the rebel enclave hell on earth earlier we spoke to a representative of doctors without borders about the situation there. where we have six. hope of nations in the last few days or a. number of. people has increased dramatically over the last. few days before the. people. who are. the biggest problem for the. still function. supplies as well as the party just go and medical supplies so some sort of agreement. these medicines and especially the surgical supplies and. into the. surgeons. do that by saving were. who has reported extensively from syria's war zones takes a look at who is in control of the str

and human look on fortunately there are lots of extremist forces in eastern guta risible is a range of terror organizations recognized by the un the shelling is continually coming from that area on some days the number of missile strikes and more to shell attacks which is fifty to eighty they even reach the territory of the russian embassy should we tolerate this indefinitely of course not. there's been a large number of efforts to protect civilians in the area russia carries out a five hour humanitarian pause on a daily basis in the hopes of protecting civilians and allowing them to get out through the humanitarian corridor furthermore the u.n. security council has passed a resolution calling for a thirty day cease fire now a letter was said. to the u.n. security council by some of the opposition and rebel groups saying that they would honor this u.n. resolution however at this point always three hundred civilians have been prevented from leaving due to the the attacks they've experienced as they try to escape now the russian representative pointed out that these kind of humanitarian

russia was also sponsored a five hour daily truce to help civilians escape the violence in eastern guta however terrorists shelled the humanitarian corridor that's according to russia's defense ministry which helped to set up the route before it was a time just minutes later a single severely and was able to leave the enclave on tuesday the u.s. state department though accuses russia of paying too much attention to one of the last terrorist hotbeds in syria. i find it ironic when russia calls for a humanitarian road a humanitarian zone you know what the humanitarian zone is it's the entirety of syria not just one little area that russia acutely tries to carve out it should be the entire country because that is what russia and those fifteen other countries agreed to in the u.n. security council resolution united states has actually made a very specific failure in syria and gating the grounds there and we've lost a lot of the ability to speak about that and from now it's just become on whoever's whoever's in charge or whoever might have something so playing the blame on russia for the thi

the studio good morning thank you so much for being with us khaled the bombing campaign in eastern guta has claimed hundreds of lives this week alone what are syrian forces hoping to achieve with this they're not just only syrian forces the forces as forces with allied militia from you know again backed militia shiite militia they could win and if you want to what's called so in that order is you have the one side you have so many forces fighting there is you of bashar assad and this is the theory and i know we have these even. with the dogs so they are facing them from the seat in the g.m. and the russian and the iranian backed militia forces is trying to achieve population transferred as i think not dissimilar to what you have seen inutile some time ago and cleansing the sunni population that is opposed to assad and that i've been is that actually in damascus you use them with all but it is other than administrative leave it is the mosque it's a kind of a suburb of damascus eastern due to you know the area well you've served as a correspondent yourself in damascus now the syrian regim

fighting very actively to take back eastern guta and oh really it just highlights that russia is not going to let anything probably get in the way of. their goal and bashar assad's goal of taking back eastern due to this last major rebel stronghold oh it also highlights how complex this conflict is how much clout does putin wield over the assad regime. you know this is a tough question earlier it would seem like you wield a lot of clout over assad because really russian russia's bombing campaign was the only thing that kept assad's regime in power and turned the tide of the war however there have been indications recently bet's russia's influence over assad may not be as absolute as as we once thought notably arks answer to every seventh there was. dozens of down hundreds of russian mercenaries died in the u.s. air strikes but questions have been of why and some people are saying that russia perhaps perhaps let this mercenary operation which was being carried out to take an oil field near tears or for assad's purposes purposes that russia has not signed on for in that particular inst

security council was very clear that everyone agreed that the life of civilians in eastern guta was was of top concern however there were clear differences about who was to blame and that certain countries felt as if the situation was just squarely on the shoulders of syria and russia. the u.n. secretary general called for an end to the fighting in east to go to home wednesday he described the situation there is hell on earth a representative from doctors without borders also known as m.s.f. told us more about the impact the fighting is having on civilians trapped in the rubble in place. where we have six. received a population is in the last few days or a quarter of our kids the number of wounded before has decreased dramatically over the last. few days reported. to a. dozen or. so the biggest problem for the over the world so still for sure is. supplies as well as the violence is going on. medical supplies are some sort of agreement that. these medicines especially i repeat surgical supplies ernest i think can enter into the. place the surgeons. can do their lifesaving work the next o

earlier we spoke to my had made several activists living in eastern guta he says the world has turned its back on syria. seventy two hours the shelling and bombing raids are not stopping. this moment. there's a lot of people here there's a lot of injuries medical warrants out of service we feel like betrayed really from the international community. that was there was part of the escalation zones and suddenly there's on being a brutal campaign on on the area it's really we we feel like it betrayed. syria's ally russia says the rebels in east and go to have ignored call for lay down their arms and surrender is called for a u.n. security council meeting to discuss the situation there this is the un human rights chief condemned the violence accusing the syrian government of carrying out a monstrous campaign of annihilation and diplomatic editor james spays reports the security council met to discuss the un's charter the governing document of the world organization with charter drawn up over seventy years ago gives the council a key role of maintaining peace and security a job it's miserab

council we heard from different countries addressing the council regarding the situation in eastern guta now we've also heard russia's president vladimir putin's comment on the situation and point out that essentially this enclave in eastern guta is being used to attack civilians in damascus and that civilians in eastern go to are being used as human shield. unfortunately there are lots of extremist forces in the eastern good to risk what is a range of terror organizations recognized by the un the shelling is continually coming from that area on some days the number of missile strikes and moved to charlotte which is fifty to eighty they even reached the territory of the russian embassy should we tolerate this indefinitely. of course not. there's been a large number of efforts to protect civilians in the area russia carries out a five hour humanitarian pause on a daily basis in the hopes of protecting civilians and allowing them to get out through the humanitarian corridor furthermore the un security council has passed a resolution calling for a thirty day cease fire now a letter was sent

alexander yako banco to discuss the humanitarian situation in eastern guta he told us that our finding a solution to the crisis is a joint responsibility of course you know we're a bit disappointed with this. so. richard johnson when he spoke yesterday at the parliament and he blamed russia for humanitarian situation and we said this is directly straight straight forward so we discussed with the british you know what the british could do in a practical terms but to support this is aleutian you know whom they can talk and what kind of signals they could send to the. u.k. you whether it's a neutral position or whatever to be on to people in order to see lives and i'll tell you that so that was a very pretty american conversation and. i think that the minister duncan. here received my message and he promised to send the right signals to the people with whom they're connecting on the ground in order to to have this cease fire and to feel the resume loosened from my point of view it was a very useful conversation we need the british on board but of course as i said we don't accept the. the