Warring parties in the Middle East have been urged to cease hostilities and focus on ‘the true fight of our lives’, the coronavirus pandemic.
The plea came from United Nations (UN) envoys for Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to Al Jazeera.
The envoys stressed that solidarity was needed in facing the Covid-19 challenge, warning that this could not happen ‘if the guns of war and conflict are not silenced’.
The news site reported that the envoys said that while many parties had responded positively to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s appeal on 23 March for immediate ceasefires, there was a need for stepped-up action.
‘At a time like this, partisanship and narrow interests must yield to the greater cause and the good of the people,’ their appeal said.