US condemns attack in Syria's Afrin, renews call for nationwide ceasefire

The United States condemned the attack in the north-western Syrian city of Afrin which reportedly killed at least 40 people on April 29. Calling it an acceptable act of evil, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the US reiterates its call for a nationwide ceasefire in the Middle Eastern country riven by conflicts.

Turkey's Defence Ministry tweeted that attack took place in a crowded street which killed dozens of civilians including 11 children. The ministry has blamed a Kurdish militia group, the YPG, for the ghastly attack in the city which is controlled by Turkish forces and Syrian rebel groups.

Read: Attack In Syria Town Run By Turkish-backed Fighters Kills 40

A UK-based war monitoring group has reported that the death toll after the oil truck explosion has risen to at least 46 and expected to increase. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that it has monitored charred bodies of children and women and nine members of Turkish-backed factions.

Read: Syria Says Israeli Warplanes Attacked Area Near Damascus

'Syria at high risk'

Last month, United Nations Special Representative Geir Pederson told the Security Council members in a videoconference that Syria at “high risk” of being unable to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Syria has reported only 43 confirmed cases of coronavirus but years of internal and external conflicts could prove a disaster to an already weak healthcare system. Reiterating calls for a complete nationwide ceasefire, Pederson said that the Syrian people desperately need everyone to focus on their welfare now.

“We need the kind of sustained period of calm that a nationwide ceasefire would ensure because we need cooperation to take place across the front-lines that riddle Syria’s territory – and this is needed not tomorrow, but now”, the UN Special Envoy had said.

Read: Israeli Airstrikes In Syria Killed Nine Pro-regime Fighters: War Monitor

Read: Syria's Divisions Damage Efforts To Mobilize Against Virus

(Image Credit: AP)