UN backs ceasefire 'without delay' in Syria

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously demanded a 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow aid to get in and medical evacuations.

The vote came as Syrian government forces continued to pound the rebel-held enclave of eastern Ghouta, where the week's reported death toll stood at more than 500 civilians - including 127 children - by Saturday night.

It is not clear exactly when the truce will start but Sweden's UN ambassador Olof Skoog said before the vote that the "UN convoys and evacuation teams are ready to go".

Speaking after the vote, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said: "We are late to respond to this crisis, very late."

The resolution's sponsors Kuwait and Sweden had adjusted the resolution late on Friday in an effort to gain the support of Syrian government ally - and council veto-holder - Russia.

Moscow, which intervened militarily in support of President Bashar al Assad in 2015, has denied any direct involvement in the eastern Ghouta



bombardment.

The resolution changes included dropping a demand that the ceasefire take effect in 72 hours, a deadline Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia had described as unrealistic.

Members of the UN Security Council vote for ceasefire to Syrian bombing

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The resolution gained the backing of the Russians

Instead, the language was changed to "without delay" and the word "immediate" was axed in relation to aid deliveries and evacuations.

The remaining text says that 5.6 million people in 1,244 communities are in "acute need", demanding that all sides "cease depriving civilians of food and medicine indispensable to their survival".

However, the ceasefire does not apply to fighting against Islamic State, al Qaeda or "individuals, groups, undertakings and entities" associated with them.

This means the Syrian regime of President Assad can continue fighting jihadists in Idlib who are linked to al Qaeda. Idlib is the last Syrian province not in government hands.