Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised a UN-mandated ceasefire in Syria designed to stop the recent bloodshed in eastern Ghouta while defending his own military’s two-month-old operation against the Kurds in Afrin.

The unanimous UN decision on a resolution demanding a 30-day cessation in hostilities across Syria on 24 March has done little to stop the violence in the rebel-held besieged suburb, which has killed 800 people in the last two weeks.

“UNSC, damn your resolution. What is the meaning of a decision that has not been implemented? You are deceiving humanity, you are cheating,” Mr Erdogan said at a meeting of his political party AKP’s parliamentary group on Tuesday.

Scenes of devastation in Syria after deadly shelling and airstrikes and eastern Ghouta

Mr Erdogan said the international community was guilty of “inaction” in Ghouta and criticised the structure of the UN, which gives veto power to the five permanent members of the Security Council – the US, UK, Russia, China and France.

The comments come after French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly told Mr Erdogan in a phone call last week that the ceasefire must apply to all fighting in Syria – including Turkey’s two-month-old Operation Olive Branch aimed at driving Kurdish forces away from the border region between the two countries.

The air and ground offensive launched in January opened a new front in Syria’s bloody conflict which has already killed dozens of civilians and fighters on both sides.

Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Show all 9 1 /9 Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Smoke billows following a Turkish airstrike on a village in the Afrin district, on 28 January, 2018. Turkey launched operation "Olive Branch" on January 20 against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in Afrin, supporting Syrian opposition fighters with ground troops and air strikes AFP Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Smoke billows from surrounding villages during the Turkish military operation against the Kurdish enclave on 28 January, 2018 AFP/Getty Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Twenty-year old Kifah al-Moussa, a Syrian Arab woman living among the Kurds of Afrin province, was working on a chicken farm in the village of Maryameen when a Turkish aircraft bombed the building at midday on 21 January, wounding her in the chest. When she recovered consciousness, she found eight people from one family lying dead around her Yara Ismail Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Mohamed Hussein, a 58-year-old Kurdish farmer, lies in the Afrin hospital, wounded in the head and eye after his home was bombed by Turkish aircraft on the second night of the attack Yara Ismail Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Syrian Kurds sit on benches overlooking a street in Afrin, on 28 January, 2018. Above is a memorial to ‘martyrs’ who died in the fight against Isis AFP/Getty Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Smoke is seen rising on the Syrian side of the border, at Hassa, near Hatay, southern Turkey as Turkish jet fighters hit People's Protection Unit (YPG) positions, on 28 January, 2018 AFP/Getty Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures A Turkish made T-155 Firtina (Storm) howitzer is dispatched to the border at Hassa near Hatay, southern Turkey, on 28 January, 2018 AFP/Getty Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures A Turkish soldier waves a flag on Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, on 28 January, 2018 Reuters Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army fighters are seen in Barsaya mountain, northeast of Afrin, on 28 January, 2018 Reuters

Turkey views the Kurdish YPG militia as an extension of its own separatist PKK, a group designated as a terrorist organisation by Ankara as well as the EU and US.

The YPG and broader Arab-Kurdish coalition Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have won widespread Western support over the past few years as the most effective ground force against Isis.

In January the US pledged continued support for the YPG and SDF to ensure the jihadi militants do not form a resurgent movement, a strategy which enraged Turkey and contributed to the decision to launch the new offensive on Afrin.

Rights groups have condemned the Turkish operation as causing “unlawful” civilian deaths by failing to take necessary precautions before carrying out air strikes.

On Tuesday Mr Erdogan reiterated that Olive Branch is not covered by the UN resolution for a ceasefire as it was aimed at eradicating the “terror corridor” on its border.

“Terrorist organisations and the forces behind them are not concerned about the prosperity and the future of the Syrian people. That’s why this effort unsettles them,” he said.