The ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta went into effect shortly after midnight (2200 UTC Friday) after Russia brokered a deal between rebels and Syrian regime forces. Russia on Wednesday denied accusations that it and the Syrian army were behind a chemical attack in eastern Ghouta on January 22. UN call for court actionUnited Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres again called for Syria to be referred to theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) for “serious violations” in blocking aid deliveries and medical care. Guterres said that in December no aid was delivered to more than 417,000 people in nine locations under siege. Only 60,000 of the 2.5 million Syrians in “hard to reach” areas had received humanitarian aid, the UN chief said in his report on the humanitarian situation in Syria delivered Friday to the Security Council.

Source: Egypt Independent January 27, 2018 09:06 UTC