UNSC "gravely concerned" by heavy fighting in Homs, but fails to issue statement

NEW YORK, April 18 (KUNA) -- The Security Council expressed "grave concern" about the humanitarian impact of heavy fighting on civilians in the Old City of Homs and the Al-Waer neighbourhood in Syria, Council President Ambassador Joy Ogwu of Nigeria told reporters Thursday night following a three-hour Council closed-door informal meeting.
Ogwu said the Council did not reach an agreement on a press statement, presented by the UK and opposed by Russia, but agreed on a number of "elements" to the press.
She said the Council agreed to urge the "immediate implementation of Council resolution 2139," which called for allowing easy access and delivery of food to the besieged areas in Syria.
It also expressed support to the call made earlier Thursday by Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi for the resumption of discussions between the Syrian authorities and a negotiating committee representing the civilians and fighters still trapped in the Old City of Homs, as well as inhabitants of Al-Waer neighbourhood in order to reach a comprehensive agreement.
Brahimi expressed deep regret in a statement issued in Geneva earlier Thursday that the discussions were "brutally stopped and violence is now rife again when a comprehensive agreement seemed close at hand. It is alarming that Homs, whose people have suffered so much throughout these past three years is again the theatre of death and destruction." He urged all the parties to return to the negotiating table and complete the deal which was on the verge of being signed.
US Ambassador Samantha Power later issued a statement saying the US is "deeply concerned" about the Syrian government's violent offensive on the Old City of Homs and the neighborhood of Al-Waer, and that the breakdown in negotiations on a comprehensive agreement on safe passage for those trapped in the city may be part of a concerted military strategy to intensify the regime's onslaught against the beleaguered and besieged city.
"Many civilians are trapped inside the city and need humanitarian assistance, which besieging Syrian regime forces have obstructed. Starve or surrender tactics are but one of the regime's brutal methods of war," she noted, recalling that the Assad regime has failed to comply with resolution 2139.
"The United States appeals to all those UN Member States with influence on Damascus to pressure the regime to return to the negotiating table with the opposition's negotiating committee. UN agencies need humanitarian access now; it is imperative that those who want to leave Homs are able to do so quickly and safely," she insisted. (end) sj.hb