Francisco asked to stop the "humanitarian disaster" | Chronic

Pope Francisco He sent a letter to the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, in which he called for "concrete initiatives" to end the country's "humanitarian catastrophe" for years. A few hours later, the bomb attack on a market, attributed to the Russian aviation, has left at least 43 dead and more than a hundred wounded. Moscow rejected the accusations.

In the letter delivered by two Vatican cardinals present in Damascus, the Pontiff expresses histhe deep concern over the humanitarian situation in Syria, particularly with regard to the dramatic conditions of the civilian population in Idlib ", in the north-west of the country, bastion of the last rebels fighting the government.

Therefore, he requested that the President protect "The lives of civilians and the main infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals and health centers, are preserved." For his part, the Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, added that "in his letter, the Holy Father uses the word reconciliation three times: this is his goal, for the good of this country and its defenseless population ", that is why he insisted that Al Assad make "important gestures in this very urgent reconciliation process".

The Pontifex expresses his "deep concern at the humanitarian situation in Syria, with particular reference to the dramatic conditions of the civilian population in Idlib "

However, while the contents of the note sent by the head of the Catholic Church were known, the news reached that further removed Francisco's desire from the reality of the country. An airstrike against a vegetable distribution center in Idlib has left at least 43 dead and more than a hundred wounded.

The announcement was made by the NGO Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, which accused Russian aviation, allied with the government of Al Assad, of being responsible for the bombing. In response, the Moscow Ministry of Defense rejected the accusations: "The statements of anonymous representatives of the White Helmets organization, funded by the United Kingdom and the United States, on alleged market attacks in the municipality of Maárat an-Numán (Idlib province) by Russian aerospace aircraft are fake. "In addition, he badured that the Russian aviation"has not deployed any task in this region. "