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European Parliament calls for immediate cessation of hostilities

Xinhua, December 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Members of European Parliament (MEPs) meeting here Wednesday for a plenary session denounced the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Aleppo and demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities after an agreement providing for the evacuation of civilians and rebels in the eastern part the city was suspended, also on Wednesday.

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker opened the plenary session speaking on the gravity of the situation in Aleppo.

He evoked, in particular, the situation of children caught beneath buildings in ruins. The Luxembourger called for allowing civilian populations to leave the city in safety.

The President of the European People's Party group (EPP), German MEP Manfred Weber, spoke about the urgent need for humanitarian aid in Aleppo. "It is clear that Europe has to act. We also need to improve the reception of refugees here," he said in the Strasbourg hemicycle.

In a resolution adopted on Nov. 24, MEPs had indeed called for an immediate cessation of bombings and blind strikes against civilians and civilian settlements. They demanded that all parties to the conflict guarantee access to humanitarian aid throughout the country.

In November, the European Parliament also asked for those responsible for violations of international law to be brought to justice. Ivan Korcuk, representative of the Slovakian Presidency of the European Council, made this call once again before the plenary.

Speaking on the "tragic situation in Syria and in Aleppo," Korcuk affirmed that everything had been put in place with the objective "put an end to" these violations.

Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group (ALDE), expressly asked the European Council to act during its European summit of Dec. 15. In order to put an end to such a "meltdown of humanity," Verhofstadt presented three points that he judged necessary: "A ceasefire, the free entrance of humanitarian aid to eastern Aleppo, and talks towards a political solution."

Information concerning the situation in Aleppo remained contradictory on Wednesday evening. Endit