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Conflict in Syria

UN Security Council to discuss situation in Syria’s Raqqa

The UN Security Council will hold a briefing on the situation in the Syrian city of Raqqa and the Rukban refugee camp

© AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

UN, April 17. /TASS/. Russia requested holding an open UN Security Council briefing on humanitarian session in the Syrian city of Raqqa and the Rukban refugee camp on the border with Jordan, Russia’s permanent mission to the UN said.

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Russian Defense Ministry: Hospitals in Syria’s Raqqa overcrowded

Mission spokesman Fyodor Strzhizhovsky said the briefing was scheduled to take place on Tuesday afternoon.

"The Russian delegation has requested holding an open UN Security Council briefing on humanitarian situation in Syria’s Raqqa and Rukban in the context of implementing UNSC Resoluction 2401. The briefing is expected to take place in the afternoon," he said.

"Russia expects Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock to brief the Council," Strzhizhovsky said.

On February 24, 2018, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2401 on establishing a ceasefire in Syria for at least 30 days to provide humanitarian assistance to the population. According to the document, the truce does not apply to the Islamic State and the Jabhat al-Nusra (terrorist groups banned in Russia - TASS).

Raqqa was the main Syrian stronghold of the Islamic State (terror group outlawed in Russia - TASS). The city was liberated by the Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by the US-led coalition, on October 17, 2017.

Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on April 13 that situation in the city remains particularly difficult as 70% of the city was destroyed by the coalition’s bombing. Only two hospitals operate in the area, and they are overcrowded.

According to Russia’s information, the situation in the Rukban refugee camp in the US-controlled Tanf district also remains complicated.

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Foreign policy Syrian conflict

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