Germany demands immediate end to Russian attacks on Mariupol
Berlin, Mar 31 (EFE).- Germany on Thursday urged Russia to “immediately” halt its attacks on the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and provide safe corridors for the over 100,000 civilians trapped in the city.
“The attacks must be stopped immediately. International humanitarian law must be observed,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement.
“I therefore call on the Russian government to provide safe corridors for civilians to evacuate voluntarily and to deliver humanitarian aid to those who are unable or unwilling to leave” she added.
The minister said more than 100,000 civilians were still trapped in Mariupol, including children, women, men and the elderly.
“Even if the horrible news is the same from day to day, we must not and will not lose sight of the situation of these people for a moment,” she said.
According to the minister, the people of Mariupol have been living an “almost unimaginable nightmare” for weeks, without electricity, water and heating “in a city that is constantly being razed to the ground by Russian bombs, rockets and grenades.”
“Russia seems determined to conquer or destroy the city, no matter the human cost,” she said.
On Thursday, Russia agreed to open a humanitarian corridor between Mariupol and the Zaporizhzhia region, in the south of the country, and to declare a ceasefire in the besieged port city at 10 am. EFE
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