UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 28 -- UN Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said Friday that the security situation has continued to gravely deteriorate in and around Idlib, and the latest developments are unfolding in the context of a broader military escalation that was already devastating for civilians in the northwest Syria.
Speaking at a hastily called meeting in the Security Council, DiCarlo urged Russia and Turkey to "build upon their previous agreements to secure a fresh ceasefire for northwest Syria."
For months now, bombing and shelling by the government of Syria, supported by its allies, has continued in the so-called de-escalation zone of Idlib, said DiCarlo, adding that strikes have been launched on populated areas from both air and ground, seemingly without regard for civilians.
Noting that nearly a million people have been displaced since early December, many multiple times, including more than 560,000 children, she said they are fleeing north, away from the intensifying aerial and ground bombardment and into ever-shrinking areas where they still hope to find relative safety.
"The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has verified at least 1,750 civilians have been killed since last April. The actual number is probably higher, 351 civilians have been killed in the last two months alone," she added.
Civilians in Idlib are living under daily threat and terror, seeking refuge from airstrikes and volleys of shells and mortar rounds, said DiCarlo. "They are not asking for a pause in the fighting. They are asking for an end to the killing. We must all assume our responsibility to do all we can to stop this violence."