BEIRUT/UNITED NATIONS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A new wave of bombs struck Syria’s eastern Ghouta district on Friday, witnesses said, ahead of a U.N. Security Council vote to demand a 30-day ceasefire to end one of the deadliest bombing campaigns of the seven-year-old civil war. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to support the Security Council resolution. Eastern Ghouta has 400,000 people spread over a larger area than other enclaves the government has recaptured. The towns and farms of eastern Ghouta have been under government siege since 2013, with shortages of food, water and electricity that worsened last year. The resolution to be considered by the Security Council does not cover Islamic State, al Qaeda or the Nusra Front, which Moscow and Damascus say they have targeted in eastern Ghouta.

Source: Huffington Post February 23, 2018 10:18 UTC