Coronavirus cease-fire? UN chief urges world to end armed conflicts, focus on 'true fight of our lives'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Monday for an immediate cease-fire in conflicts around the world to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.N. chief said: “It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.”
Guterres said people caught in armed conflicts, which are raging around the world, are among the most vulnerable and “are also at the highest risk of suffering devastating losses from COVID-19.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Syrian government forces enter the village of Tel-Toukan, in Idlib province, northwest Syria, in February. The U.N. secretary general is now asking for all armed conflicts to be put on hold so the world can tackle the coronavirus outbreak. (AP/SANA)
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He told reporters from U.N. headquarters in New York that it’s time to silence guns, stop artillery, end airstrikes and create corridors for life-saving aid.
“End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world,” the secretary-general said.