International aid organizations have stepped up calls for civilians trapped in the flashpoint Syrian city of Qusayr to be evacuated, as opposition fighters faced a fresh assault from regime forces.
UN agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appealed to both sides in the fighting to let the civilians, including an estimated 1,500 wounded, leave the embattled town.
Britain on Saturday circulated a draft declaration at the UN Security Council, voicing "grave concern about the situation in Qusayr".
Russia, however, blocked the draft.
The regime’s military campaign on Qusayr started two weeks ago, in an attempt to regain control of the strategic city bordering Lebanon. It is believed that Hezbollah has sent an estimated 1,700 fighters to support the regime's assault.
On Sunday, regime fighter jets launched 10 airstrikes on the city, activists there told Al Jazeera.
Activists said that escape routes for civilians have become unsafe. They reported this week that a convoy of civilians seeking to flee Qusayr was attacked by Syrian forces.
UN emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said there was "an urgent need of immediate evacuation for emergency medical treatment".
In Geneva, the ICRC called for restraint on all sides.
"Civilians and the wounded are at risk of paying an even heavier price as the fighting continues," Robert Mardini, the head of Middle East operations, said, adding that ICRC had already requested access to the town.
The control of Qusayr is essential for the opposition forces as it is their principal transit point for weapons and fighters from across the border in Lebanon.
It is also strategic for the regime because it is located on the road linking Damascus with the Mediterranean coast, its rear base.
PHOTO CAPTION
A picture released by the opposition Al-Qusayr Media Centre is said to show a Syrian man walking in the rubble of the city of Qusayr following air strikes by regime forces on May 22, 2013.
Al-Jazeera