'You can't fight evil with another evil'

Pope Francis yesterday said Syria was being "martyred" by continued attacks killing civilians in the eastern Ghouta district, calling for an immediate end to violence and access to humanitarian aid.

"All this is inhuman," Francis told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square for his weekly blessing. He spoke hours after the United Nations adopted a resolution demanding a 30-day truce across Syria to allow aid access and medical evacuation.

"In these days my thoughts have often been taken up by the beloved and martyred Syria," he said, noting there had been thousands of civilian victims of violence that had not spared even hospitals.

"You can't fight evil with another evil," he said, asking his listeners to join together in a moment of silent prayer.

"This February has been one of the most violent (periods) in seven years of conflict," he said during Angelus prayers. "All this is inhuman. One cannot fight evil with another evil."

Francis called for an immediate end to the violence so food and medicine can get in and the sick and wounded can leave.

New air strikes hit Eastern Ghouta yesterday raising the civilian death toll from seven days of intense bombardment to over 500 including more than 120 children, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.