FILE PHOTO: People walk on rubble of damaged buildings after an airstrike in the besieged town of Douma in eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria, February 7, 2018. REUTERS/ Bassam Khabieh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Citing recent reports of the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons, the United States on Thursday said it backs a call from the United Nations to put violence in Syria on pause for a month in order to deliver humanitarian aid and facilitate the evacuation of 700 civilians.

“We are yet again appalled by the recent reports of the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons and the escalation of bombings that has resulted in dozens of civilian deaths in the last 48 hours, as well as the continued abhorrent attacks on civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, which resulted in increased displacement,” said State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert in a statement.