Syria 'humanitarian pause' announced by Russia takes effect
A five-hour truce called by Russia started on Tuesday in the Syrian rebel-held eastern Ghouta near Damascus with the stated aim of allowing people to escape the area which is being targeted in a fierce offensive by the Moscow-backed government.
- World
- AFP
- Published Date: 12:00 | 27 February 2018
- Modified Date: 12:01 | 27 February 2018
A humanitarian "pause" announced by Russia in a bid to stem the bloodshed in Syria's rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta took effect Tuesday at 9:00 am (0700 GMT).
An AFP correspondent in the main town of Douma reported only sporadic rocket fire overnight. The daily "pause" Moscow announced on Monday is due to last until 2:00 pm (1200 GMT).
Moscow said the measure was meant to create a window for some of the estimated 400,000 people living in the area to evacuate, using safe passages.
The intense bombardment by the Syrian regime and Moscow of the enclave, which lies just east of Damascus, has killed more than 550 civilians in nine days, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.