#COVID19: UN Chief Calls For Immediate Global Ceasefire

Antionio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, on Tuesday appealed, for an “immediate global ceasefire” to protect vulnerable civilians in conflict zones from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.

“#COVID19 does not care about nationality or ethnicity, faction or faith. It attacks all, relentlessly,” Guterres said in a tweet on his official twitter handle, @antonioguterres.

He added: “That is why today, I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world.”

See tweet:

#COVID19 does not care about nationality or ethnicity, faction or faith. It attacks all, relentlessly.

Meanwhile, armed conflict rages on around the world and the most vulnerable pay the highest price.

That’s why I’m calling for an immediate global ceasefire.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 24, 2020

Syria has reported its first case of the COVID-19 virus, in a country already torn by 10 years of war, and other cases have emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan.

Experts and diplomats expect the virus to wreak havoc in countries in conflict, which often are very poor and with fragile health care systems.