Memorial made of 740 teddy bears

Syria memorial made of 740 teddy bears © Christian Ditsch (epd)

Seven years of violence in Syria and no peace in sight: one of the few aid convoys arrived in embattled Eastern Ghuta on Thursday, but the delivery is not enough for all residents. Meanwhile, in Berlin, teddy bears were making news.

In Syria, a Red Cross aid convoy has delivered food to the town of Duma in the besieged rebel area of Eastern Ghuta. The food rations are intended for 26.100 people will last for a month, as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced on Thursday in Geneva. United Nations commission of inquiry denounced sexual violence in Syria conflict.

ICRC President Peter Maurer was also involved in the convoy of 25 trucks during his visit to Syria. Nearly 400 people live in Eastern Ghuta.000 people trapped for weeks. In recent weeks, only isolated convoys reached Eastern Ghuta due to the fighting, and not all trucks with humanitarian goods could be unloaded.

Sexual assault

Maurer called for a "peace agreement" on the seventh anniversary of the start of the conflict in Syria on 15. March an end to violence. The suffering of people should not be prolonged, said Maurer. In addition to the ICRC, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the World Food Program also participated in the delivery to Duma. A Red Cross spokeswoman said another convoy of medical supplies could leave for Eastern Ghuta in the coming days.

Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad's troops besiege and shell area with Russian help. From eastern Ghuta, insurgents fire on nearby capital Damascus. Violence continues despite UN Security Council call for ceasefire.

The UN's Syria Commission condemned sexual violence in the conflict as deeply repugnant. Thousands of women and girls, as well as men and boys, have been victims of rape and other sexual assaults since 2011, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said in Geneva.

Assad regime troops, rebel groups and terror militias such as the "Islamic State" (IS) have been guilty of sexual violence, report says. The acts could be considered "crimes against humanity".

The sexual violence is said to create fear among the victims and their relatives. Violence is also used to humiliate and punish, he said. Members of Assad units raped prisoners in the camps and during interrogations. IS militias would have used it to enforce their "draconian" social order.

Teddy Bear Action in Berlin

With a teddy bear campaign, the aid organization World Vision Germany has drawn attention to the suffering of children in Syria.

In the process, a memorial made of 740 teddy bears was erected by schoolchildren at Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt on Thursday. More than 2.5 million Syrian children have been displaced since the war began, it said. 740.000 of them are of school age but are unable to attend classes. At the memorial, therefore, each teddy stands for 1.000 school-age children on the run. The bears will then be distributed to refugee children in Berlin and Jordan.

In Syria, Assad troops, opposition rebels and terrorist groups are fighting each other. In addition to Russia, Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia are on Assad's side. Turkey is taking military action in the Afrin region against Kurdish militias receiving U.S. aid. The conflict began when the Assad regime responded with violence to peaceful protests. More than 400.000 people have been killed, more than twelve million are on the run.