Syria Talks in Geneva Overshadowed by Frustration Over Humanitarian Access<br />Egeland said that There has been massive loss of life — hundreds and hundreds have been wounded,<br />30, 2017<br />GENEVA — The starvation and bombardment of Syrian civilians in a long-besieged Damascus suburb overshadowed efforts on Thursday by<br />United Nations diplomats to inject life into another round of peace talks in Geneva aimed at ending the nearly seven-year-old war.<br />But there was no sign of movement to direct talks by Thursday, when negotiators from both sides met simultaneously with Mr. de Mistura<br />and his deputy at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva.<br />His account of conditions close to the Syrian capital provided a pessimistic backdrop to the long-troubled efforts of the special<br />United Nations envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, to make progress in discussions with government and opposition negotiators.<br />Amnesty International reported Thursday that Syrian aircraft had attacked Eastern Ghouta with cluster munitions over the past 10 days, and accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of "war crimes on an epic scale." The organization said at least 10 civilians had been killed by the cluster munitions, which are internationally banned weapons<br />that disperse bomblets that fan out, killing and maiming indiscriminately.<br />The special United Nations humanitarian adviser for Syria, Jan Egeland, expressed outrage over what he described as heavy casualties in the suburb, Eastern Ghouta,<br />and the inability of aid workers to help the 400,000 residents trapped there.
