al-jazeera. where every. thousands of syrians flee eastern good ask more than sixty people were killed in government airstrikes on the rebel held on clay. this is. also coming out. that it was his decision

to direct the. streets. for the first time since the second world war. president vladimir putin directly for ordering the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter plus. former president jacob zuma has been charged with corruption. and an outpouring of grief over the death of a popular politician brazil's president calls it an assassination. and the. fifty thousand people to leave syria's eastern about sixteen thousand have fled the rebel held on five just over the past two days there has been under heavy bombardment since the government stepped up its offensive there and february on

friday at least sixty one people were killed in strikes and shelling by the syrian government and its ally russia further north at least twenty one people have been killed in a freeness turkish forces trying to take the town from kurdish fighters turkey launched an offensive in january to remove the kurdish. militia buffer zone along its border turkey considers the group a terrorist organization the assault has forced tens of thousands of people to flee let's go to alan fischer who's near the turkish syrian border. let's let's pick up there with efraim allen where are these people going and has there been any more of a response to turkey saying once they take back this city they're not giving it up once they take the city rather with the people. when people are leaving afrin they're moving to the south of the city to the only road that's open this humanitarian corridor that's been opened by the free syrian army and the turkish military and from there they're moving into government controlled areas we're

hearing that the assault on afrin city which we're expecting for a number of days has no begun with reports of soldiers moving towards the northern outskirts of the city so people are dying in the city as well there's been a number of bombardments and air strikes and that has spread all over the city to a much wider area than we've seen over the last few days were for the united nations warning from a news conference in geneva that they are concerned about the situation after in the sea we're hearing from residents who say that rockets have been placed in residential areas that are also seeing that there are reports that the y.p. gee the cutlash militia are stopping people from leaving if they have no connection with the kurdish authorities so that will be a concern as well as for the question of the turks perhaps holding on to african city and african region as a whole is something that has brought much response from damascus at the moment but that's because the syrians are very much concentrated on what's going on in eastern

guta but potentially that is a flashpoint both the pull of magically and military in the weeks and months to come so let's take up on that that is stronger there were thousands of people have left critically about sixteen thousand the last two days how many people still remain trapped in that city. well it's still not entirely clear because as the bombardment has been going on over the last seven years but particularly since this operation began three weeks ago people have moved to places that they feel safe no on thursday we saw the flash real mass exodus it started with just a few hundred became a few thousand and by the end of the day it was estimated twelve thousand people had left the area again in the last few hours of seen a few thousand people leaving and there are estimates that one point. maybe up to twenty thousand people could leave that area but this is been a day of brutal distinct distinctions both in africa and they get it because yet again good people are leaving part of the area we're also seeing continuing

airstrikes including in one popular local market where a number of people were killed and remember today marks the start of the year of the syrian civil war so many things may have changed such as battle lines or perhaps even alliances but what hasn't changed is that people are still living in fear for their life and some people are dying and that's happening every single day every single tank act gas alan fischer. alan thank you care couple ari is the middle east and north africa regional director for unicef the says the immediate focus is eastern and it's on providing lifesaving services for the moment we see people moving out of east and. moving into areas where we have temporary shelters established the services be ready to provide immediate the are certain for most lifesaving services the dent to the wounded

children. dress their problems of acute malnutrition provide the children some drinking water and of course our team stands ready also with immediate counseling because what the children have seen what the children have gone through is what no single parent wants their children to go through and the u.s. media are there to listen to the children and help them coping with the emotional stress for some of them with real trauma. the foreign ministers of iran russia and turkey have been holding talks in the capital. trying to resolve the syrian conflict those three players are opposing sides of the war but have been working together for more than a year to try to reduce the violence as they know how to report. syria brings them together stakeholders and power brokers in a country now divided into areas of influence turkey unlike iran and russia doesn't

support the syrian government but the three countries have enough common interests to continue cooperating through the so-called us to now process the capital has hosted many rounds of talks on syria since the beginning of last year the process is meant to complement talks in geneva but the message from here was clear a disregard for the un led peace process and any western intervention in a final settlement. fire in the deescalation zones were important steps to end the war in syria a process is the successful international initiative to decrease tension in syria a sauna is where the political situations of the crisis will be found. for now agreeing on the paramita years of post war syria is being decided on the ground turkey is leading a military operation against the white p.g.d. in the mainly kurdish populated northeastern town of africa and the russian and

iranian government are supporting the syrian government's campaign to recapture the rebel held enclave of. the foreign ministers' meeting will be followed by a summit in april that will be attended by the three countries president turkey said it will host the meeting and said it's and will be to revive peace efforts the last time the three leaders met was in november at the time they were discussing post conflict syria and a peace conference that was held in sochi in late january since then there has only been military escalation. this week countries may have their differences but they share animosity towards the united states turkey's against the u.s. is alliance with the syrian kurdish wife e.g. armed groups the russians and iranians believe the american military presence in the critics controlled north east and its threats against the government are about increasing leverage. it's unacceptable the u.s.

threats to strike damascus with. the use of chemical weapons we have told washington we rejected force. russian and iranian support have changed the balance of power in the syrian government's favor but politically there is no credible prospect of a settlement there is an international power struggle and they go are likely to continue on the battleground. russian foreign minister sergey lavrov says moscow will expel british diplomats at center response to the u.k. ordering out twenty three russian embassy staff over the poisoning of a former double agent and his daughter in southern england last week also denies any involvement british foreign secretary and says he thinks russia's president order a nerve agent quarrel is with putin's kremlin and with his decision and we think it overwhelmingly likely that it was his decision. to direct the use

of a nerve agent on the streets of of the u.k. on the streets of europe for the first time since the second world war that is that is why we are at odds with russia. has more from moscow. dmitri peskov president putin's spokesman has directly and very swiftly responded to those comments by boris johnson the foreign secretary in london pretty much directly accusing putin of giving the order to use not be chocolate nerve agent on u.k. soil mr peskov calling those comments shocking and unforgivably the war of words clearly escalating what happens in terms of moscow's response remains in the air we know from two days of comments from love rob saying basically sergey lavrov the foreign minister saying basically the same thing that he is going to expel british diplomats but not yet saying how many or when we await a more concrete response from moscow in situations like this and they have been periods precedence where the kremlin is accused by the west of some wrongdoing or

other they tend to go down one of two avenues either escalate frantically in the hope that the other side concedes folds or if the situation is more difficult perhaps plead innocence repeatedly denied involvement and then reach for a sort of more reasonable high ground which seems to be the situation in this case mr peskov saying this is no time for the language of the cold war moscow has done nothing wrong it has done everything to offer its help in the investigation it is london that has failed to produce any evidence failed to meet its obligations under international chemical weapons treaties and until it does so moscow here seems to be saying that it doesn't want to hear anything much more about it. south africa's national prosecutor has decided to charge former president jacob zuma with corruption making this announcement just in the past few minutes as it is accused seven hundred eighty three counts of corruption or relating to a two point five billion dollar arm steel charges were filed but then later dropped shortly before he ran for president in the late ninety's. still

ahead on al-jazeera kurds are of the worst chemical attack during the iran iraq war thirty years ago. i'm catherine so i inevitably i'll be telling you about the parents super heroes and like every other child he wants to be just like them. probably we've got the spring rains bring up across central parts of china not a cloud in the rain here down towards the southwestern corner trying to generally try and find eighteen celsius but that rain band will slide its way further a switch really intensifying in the process ahead of that shanghai shoes they settled in sunny at least for the next couple of days twenty degrees celsius twenty

four celsius rather more the west sunshine across hong kong meanwhile plenty of sunshine it's a south facing let me do have some rather lively showers around the southwestern corner of in the us of a rectangle pushing a little further north woods a little bit of wet weather just making its way up to was kind of possible to see some showers assented some showers there into sri lanka for a monsoon hate that continues to build thirty three thirty four celsius for many as we go on through the next day or so and that pool could touch thirty six degrees the show is as you can see continue down towards the south leaving more cloud up towards a fog with of in the into northern parts of pakistan fine and dry for much of pakistan they're fun to try to across a good part of the arabian peninsula warm sunshine coming in thirty one celsius here and on sas day little cold as we go on into sunday.

the scene for us where on line what is a very new sound in yemen that peace is possible but it never happens not because the situation is complicated but because no one cares or if you join us on set there are people that are choosing between buying medication. well i've not had the end care to count on you and i'm going to syria step on them through his brain think council members on the situation in syria like my wife and i can speak and work and that's why we have been constantly around the clock in spite of these minor local surgery in touch with just a good general and my colleagues in the field and with all those in influence because as you know many events and some of them very worrying some events have been meanwhile in the last few days taking place on the seventh of march i'm reviewing consultation on the terms of the implementation of the legal louche on

twenty four zero one. being not being any sustained ceasefire and there not been enough humanitarian access at that stage on the drugs on mars your secret agenda him orderly reported to discuss on the implementation of reclusion twenty four zero one including un efforts to grade those conditions by using its own good offices or those always on team including ourselves. generals who underscore that they did is incumbent on all the parties and all those with influence in this country enough to enter into broader says d. to act on the river allusion throughout syria without delay. so let me update your vision on where we stand on this matter since then since this is

a good general made a very comprehensive report and on the very day after an event thirty of the beginning of this conflict we are entering the eight years in everything we are doing in this horrific conflict come past. our compass and i know you feel the same has been and should be the syrian people wherever they are who are telling us they are fed up with this conflict and their way see millions are being affected in the cross fighting that is our compass so whatever we do these days and whatever we suggest including our current facilitation role constantly framed by the urgent need of the ordinary civilians women children men. so further meetings have been taking

place since the six regional reaping between the russian federation and jaish islam in the last few days on the outskirts of duma which is the north most of the three opposition controlled in cleve's in if that would be the result of the zing gauge meant a tenure of friday's ceasefire between the government russian military njt slum fourth of has continued to logically hold for this six they know and we hope it would continue so notwithstanding engagement between government for the injuries in other areas outside of the web such as the village of really hone in on where these talks these discussions this is by i've been affecting and implemented with j.j. exam in duma but not beyond that. but this is only one power of his to hold them it is not being replicated for reasons the rest of is simple or elsewhere and he's

extremely fragile while we're talking i understand there in this very moment some delicate meetings taking place regarding the follow up to this arrangement regarding duma. that talk that for this if i hold because there's been at least one good news among very bad news the un has been practically offering its own good offices but efforts to passively data meaningful contacts between the russian federation and file like you in our last month or after i will show them have not yet been producing results you are dominant forces in the two are the english in if they hold in are after enron but a couple of but i tell them it means the mulga job of expectedly. indows to all the area we have not seen anything to speak of around that we have

seen government forces and allies for it hugh a concerted escalation against these doing plagues with the rapid ground offensive accompanied by shelling and civil rights reports are just coming in a public of a public marketing come from boston having been hit we need to verify that of course because there just fresh reports with again a lot of. number of civilian casualties but we have also seen continuous outgoing shelling from these areas of eastern huta inside the median areas of damascus a game we're also hearing from people inside the hotel asking the u.n. . member states with influence to pressure a o.g.'s to let c.b.s. to leave and to pressure all parties for

a ceasefire and protection to those who do not want to leave and want to stay bottom line in all this too many civilians are suffering too many have died in that area let me say first it need not to be dissuading negotiations into mind the last few days do show that there is that way to create the conditions to advance the implementation of your illusion twenty four zero one the un therefore stands ready to offer his own good offices as we have done so far to all parties to facilitate further engagement of this guy through and to make concrete contribution to the realisation noble evolution twenty four zero one in all areas or is that what the what the un is not greedy do facility ultimatums from any side to the other one france it good discussion. five city date eighty five

facility if a creation. meanwhile violence has escalated across many other parts of syria where there is no ceasefire to speak of in a free in the turkish government forces and their allies continue to grow and rapidly we have also received reports of shelling on beseech. these two villages which have been for a long time with each by the opposition this time and they've been answered like the neatly and you on the opposition offensive in hama and collusion. in cells in syria well. at this collation moment you better try to convince me that this is exactly this collision all what we're seeing on the map looks actually do opposite it's collation. let me room for the size result lucian

twenty four zero one cannot be applied to peace my is not manual. it applies to all non-security council listed terrorist groups across all of syria let me also reinforce size in a quote from sacred general that even efforts to combat terrorist groups identified by this council do not supersede the real big agents and international law. on the humanitarian side i'm sure you will be having an opportunity of hearing a briefing from mark log i mean right seems i having did not put you need today let me give you have some sketchy information on the you want to jam front on this thirteenth of march the u.n. observer did but question of one hundred forty seven civilians among them ten critical medical cases finally mostly women and children from duma to the collective in rural damascus on the fifteenth of march and it was the outcome of

the discussions meetings between the russian military and the jaish facilitated by doing. on the fifteenth of march u.n. colleagues also delivered a convoy of food that systems for twenty six thousand one hundred people in need additional medicaid cases were also evacuated these let's be honest and admit it positive and forums are generally welcome any longer over you but they are still very limited the billions need much more including medical and health supplies there is original water commercial access in freedom of movement you must have seen a report to appeal to moderates who had been meeting some of the. people in there who. could see that they were just asking for water they just needed water

humanitarian colleagues or enter into these areas spoke of having seen hunger dire warrant poverty haggard faces and despair all around a even for experienced people like my own that humanitarian colleague was an unsustainable situation where people are literally at the tip of a collapse and that few kilometers twenty minutes drive from them after. and let me be clear this is only in duma an area where we have seen a few days in a few days of cease fire and some buffeted movement on humanitarian access can you imagine elsewhere in other words in the audit to include the recent quota for the south we have seen no ceasefire to speak off and to borrow the worth of this sector general people are still living in a hell on earth. of course killed in the injured and at the end because health

workers could not reach them due to relentless strikes seem fresh allegations of the use of incendiary weapons in the various urban areas and targeting of medical facilities since drawn from march as well and french and disturbing allegation of chlorine you in the area of the director general said we cannot independently verify these allegation but we also cannot and should not ignore them we also receive reports of thousand people displaced some moving further into eastern or in many others exiting on mass in large groups as a result of syrian government advances in her minority and in some. immigrations not talks by the un that stuff are also reported to have taken place including from mission drama and on the area of the un was not present to observe

these evacuations so is unable to know the precise. we or all parties that any of our quiz shows must think live in accordance with the higher protections standard of and the international humanitarian and human rights law where they choose to stay or leave they must be protected against attacks and they have access to the essential to survive they must be safe and it must be a fee for involuntary into a place of their own choosing the un is ready and stands ready to proceed to the people in need both those who stay indoors who want to leave we all thought highly concerned at the situation of civilians across all over syria this means those being displaced and well almost three million in with

each and hard to reach areas and those caught up in a collision in italy hama aleppo and out of reclusion twenty four did a wonder that all parties immediately lived a fugitive populated area we have not seen that. right even listening to stefan de mistura the special envoy on syria addressing the un security council members he is in brussels looking at camera addressing un security council in new york obviously and we have anniversary of this war in syria of us just a couple of days ago this is actually a second after eight in recent days and our christian salome has been listening in on this from new york and he's been very blunt saying that he feels like these places where they're supposed to be these deescalation zone say thanks and fact the opposite is happening he doesn't have really very very little if any good news to deliver. yeah about the only good news we heard from

special envoys to found mr is that a shaky cease fire in eastern duma does seem to be holding but the rest of the country he continues to describe in the words of secretary general antonio tears as hell on earth for civilians so this meeting is basically a chance for him to update the security council on any progress that's being made towards their resolution twenty four a one which called for a ceasefire in syria and as we're hearing the situation on the ground is anything but peaceful from eastern ghouta to our freend civilians continue to be caught in harm's way so little progress to report there the council also interested in hearing about the political process and whether or not the u.n. is seeing any chance of progressing on that front we had this meeting in a stock with the players on the ground russia turkey and syria and

iran of course as well and the word that we're getting from de mistura about how those talks are progressing is the same thing that our own reporting has been saying on the ground there that the ministers meeting are making it very clear that any forward movement and reconciliation talks are going to be held between them and the united nations from what we're hearing from mr right now just appears to be increasingly on the sidelines of any talks so for the security council which has been very concerned and very engaged in the ongoing process in the ongoing horrors being suffered by the civilians on the ground there the deteriorating humanitarian situation which de mistura described is at a tipping point not getting any signs of hope that their efforts to bring peace to this area are having any impact at all and he also expressed as his ongoing frustration he has been consistent in adamant about this. that the humanitarian

needs are almost unfathomable but if these deescalation zones aren't working it's impossible really for people to get help to them kristen but even it seems that the talks and astonish were not. were so parallel my apologies were actually we're about out of time on this but i thank you for updating us on what stefan de mistura was saying there speaking to the un security council more to come. this is al jazeera and these are the top stories there in children's agency unicef is preparing for fifty thousand people to leave syria's eastern ghouta about sixteen thousand a fled the rebel held on klav over the past two days the areas but under heavy bombardment since the government stepped up its offensive there and february russian foreign minister sergei lavrov says moscow will expel british

diplomats it's in response to the u.k. ordering out twenty three russian embassy staff over the poisoning of a former agent and his daughter and southern england last week moscow denies any involvement. is with putin's crimean and with his decision. that it was his decision to direct the use of the streets of the u.k. and the streets of europe for the first time since the second world war that is that is why we are watching south africa as the national prosecutor has decided to charge former president jacob zuma with corruption is him is facing seven hundred eighty three counts of corruption relating to a two and a half billion dollar arms deal the charges were filed but then later dropped shortly before he ran for the presidency in the late ninety's. the president of cyprus says he is ready to resume peace talks with the broker a northern region nicos anastasiades told al-jazeera he would jump at the first

opportunity to talk with the north's leader kinja earlier this month the foreign minister said his country would not resume talks with turkey while turkey block cypriot gas exploration efforts kurdish people in iraq are marking thirty years since the devastating chemical attack during the closing days of the iran iraq war five thousand people died when iraqi forces bombed part of the town of the lobster with mustard and sarin gas in one thousand nine hundred eighty eight president saddam hussein had accused people there of siding with iran many are still suffering from cancer and other diseases related to that attack zimbabwe's former president robert mugabe says he never thought that new leader emerson and would turn against him ninety four year old has been speaking for the first time since being pushed out in november he told foreign journalists at his home in harare that his removal was a coup and he also said that in an assume the presidency illegally and

those are the headlines the news continues keep it here on al-jazeera the stream is next. eight candidates but only one likely winner but he may putin's tight grip on the kremlin as is now when russian people. there's every indication that they will return him to is the full presidential to. follow the russian elections here on al-jazeera. hi i'm really could be and this is gilbert glenn's power and american sign language interpreter he'll be helping us conclude our weeklong coverage of the south by southwest conference in festivals in austin texas with a look at innovations in assistive technology for people with disability you're now in the stream live on al-jazeera and on you tube be sure to ask your questions in the.