VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is denouncing the "inhuman" violence in Syria and is backing a U.N. Security Council-demanded cease-fire so food and medicine can reach desperate Syrians and the sick and wounded can be evacuated.

Francis led thousands of people in St. Peter's Square in praying Sunday for an "immediate" end to hostilities.

He said: "The month of February has been one of the most violent in seven years of conflict: hundreds, thousands of civilian victims, children, women and the elderly, hospitals have been hit, people can't get food. All this is inhuman."

He insisted: "You can't fight evil with evil."

On Saturday, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria to deliver humanitarian aid to millions and evacuate the critically ill and wounded.