UN Security Council to hold 'urgent talks' on failed Syria ceasefire

The United Nations Security Council will hold urgent talks on Wednesday on the failure of a 30-day ceasefire to take hold in Syria.

France and Britain requested the meeting, which will be held behind closed doors at 3pm GMT, as the Syrian regime continues to pound the Syrian enclave of Eastern Ghouta with airstrikes.

The council, backed by Russia, unanimously adopted a resolution on 24 February demanding a 30-day cessation to hostilities to allow deliveries of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of sick and wounded civilians.

Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a daily "humanitarian pause" to brutal airstrikes on the besieged Syrian enclave, falling well short of the UN’s truce demand.

International aid groups said the Russian proposal was "not good enough" and the short time frame made it "impossible" to deliver life-saving aid.

The first aid convoy reached Eastern Ghouta on Monday but the operation was cut short as airstrikes hit the enclave killing more than 68 civilians.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 800 civilians - including at least 177 children - have been killed since Russia-backed Syrian forces launched an assault on the besieged enclave outside Damascus on 18 February.