Pope Francis implored the world today to reinstate a temporary ceasefire in Syria to allow civilians — especially children — to escape the violence.
The statement this morning was the Pope’s strongest plea thus far in regard to the conflict in Syria, according to Reuters.
"I want to underline and reiterate my closeness to all the victims of the inhumane conflict in Syria," he said.
According to the AFP report, Russian jets had once again increased bombing in eastern Aleppo on Tuesday, killing more than 20 people.
Of the 250,000 people who are believed to still be in Aleppo, there are an estimated 100,000 children, according to The New York Times.
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“It is with a sense of urgency that I renew my appeal, imploring those responsible with all my strength for an immediate ceasefire,” the Pope said, “at least for the time necessary to allow for the evacuation of civilians, especially children, who are still trapped by cruel bombardments.”
Francis appealed for the temporary peace at his weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in front of tens of thousands of people, Reuters said.
The most recent ceasefire in Syria, in September, was broken after just a week when a convoy of Red Cross trucks bringing aid to civilians was attacked.
Since then, the US officially stopped negotiating with Russia for a ceasefire and the United Nations, the United States, and France have all called for a war crimes investigation against Russia and Syria.
Russians President Vladimir Putin cancelled a trip to visit French president Francois Hollande on Tuesday following the comments, AFP reported.