The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) demanded on Saturday that the UN intervene in Syria to stop aerial bombardments of the city of Aleppo that it said were killing hundreds of civilians. The GCC — representing Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar — said a Syrian government offensive on the city was systematically destroying neighborhoods and a "flagrant aggression contrary to international laws." "The Secretary-General ... demands that the UN Security Council intervene immediately to stop the aggression on the city of Aleppo and end the suffering of the Syrian people," the GCC said in a statement. It called on the United Nations to "implement relevant council resolutions over the Syria crisis." For 10 days a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive has been underway to capture eastern Aleppo and crush the last urban stronghold of a revolt against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad that began in 2011. France's foreign minister said on Wednesday he was working to put forward a UN Security Council resolution for a ceasefire in Aleppo, and that any country that opposed it would be deemed complicit in war crimes. The United States continues to maintain that negotiations are the only way to end the carnage.
