Ban Ki-moon Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in Aleppo

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, expressing concern over the clashes in Aleppo and the 'dangerous escalation of battles' in the region, has called for the ceasefire to be expanded to all parts of Syria, especially and immediately to Aleppo. The Secretary-General's request came after a meeting between the U.S. Secretary of State and Staffan de Mistura, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, as well as the Saudi Foreign Minister. Following this meeting, the U.S. Secretary of State stated that there are 'several plans' that have been sent for review and to garner agreement from key players. John Kerry added, 'We will make significant efforts in the next 24 to 48 hours to reach a conclusion.' In line with these efforts, Staffan de Mistura will meet with the Russian Foreign Minister in Moscow on May 3 to discuss Syria and its ceasefire. Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, quoted Ban Ki-moon on May 2, stating that 'the cessation of hostilities revived in the [Ghouta] region of Damascus and Latakia must be extended to other areas of Syria, especially, immediately, to Aleppo.' The Secretary-General also urged all regional and international countries focused on the Syrian issue, particularly Russia and the United States, to intensify their efforts to revive the ceasefire by the warring parties. In a statement published on the UN website, Mr. Ban said, 'The collapse of the Syrian ceasefire will bring more violence, result in more deaths and destruction, and weaken efforts to find a solution to end this violent war.' Following the meetings of the U.S. and Saudi Foreign Ministers and the UN envoy in Geneva, attention is now turned to Moscow. Reuters reports that John Kerry has spoken by phone with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. The Russian Foreign Minister has also stated that both have asked the parties in Syria to respect the ceasefire. The Russian news agency Sputnik quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry stating that the meeting between de Mistura and Lavrov on Tuesday is a review of the latest results from the Geneva peace talks and the possibilities for their continuation and expansion. The last round of Geneva talks ended last week without any significant results. One of the main challenges of the peace negotiations is the situation in Aleppo and the extensive airstrikes by Bashar al-Assad's forces on opposition-controlled areas in the region. The United States claims that the 'deliberate' and 'indiscriminate' airstrikes by Assad's forces on civilians and also on opposition groups included in the ceasefire must be stopped immediately. The central government claims it targets 'Jabhat al-Nusra,' which is not included in the ceasefire. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, hundreds of civilians have been killed and wounded in recent days due to airstrikes by the Syrian army and also attacks by Assad's opponents on areas controlled by the central government. AFP reports that in Aleppo and its surroundings, 250 people have been killed in the past week. Some of them lost their lives in an airstrike on a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders.