Aid convoy delivers despite close combat
An aid convoy crossed into the embattled rebel-held suburbs of Damascus yesterday, delivering desperately needed aid despite heavy fighting that broke out ‘‘extremely close’’ to the convoy and renewed airstrikes by the Syrian government.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said the close-range fighting came despite security guarantees from the parties involved in the conflict that humanitarian aid could enter the town of Douma, in eastern Ghouta. ‘‘We were taken aback by the fighting that broke out despite guarantees from the parties involved in this conflict that humanitarians could enter Douma, in Eastern Ghouta,’’ said ICRC regional director Robert Mardini. ‘‘As more aid is needed in the coming days, it is absolutely critical that these assurances be renewed and respected in the future,’’ Mardini said. ‘‘Aid workers should not have to risk their lives to deliver assistance.’’
Syrian state TV said a group of opposition fighters and their families managed to reach areas controlled by the government — the first to leave the rebel-held district since a new wave of violence broke out last month. State TV showed 13 bearded men it said had earlier handed themselves over to authorities boarding a bus. It added that they were searched by troops before being taken to where journalists and paramedics were gathering. In the report, Russian troops were seen aboard the bus. Russia, a main backer of President Bashar Assad had offered a safe passage to opposition fighters who surrender in eastern Ghouta.
State TV also reported that ‘‘dozens of civilians’’ would likely get out of eastern Ghouta, in addition to 13 gunmen who had turned themselves in, via the Wafideen safe corridor designated by the government.
The channel has been reporting since last week that rebels have prevented civilians from leaving. It added that insurgents targeted the Wafideen corridor on Friday afternoon, local time, with bullets and mortar shells.
The government and its Russian backers, determined to wrest eastern Ghouta from rebel control after seven years of war, recently intensified the shelling and bombardment to clear the way for its troops to advance on the ground.
Around 900 people have been killed in the past three weeks of relentless bombardment.
Doctors Without Borders said yesterday that between February 18 and March 3 at least 1,005 people were killed and 4829 wounded — or 71 killed and 344 wounded on average per day.
The group known by its French acronym, MSF, said that the data was collected from 10 medical facilities that it fully supports and another 10 facilities it provides with emergency medical donations inside the eastern Ghouta enclave.
It added that 15 of the 20 hospitals and clinics that MSF supports have been hit by bombing or shelling, with varying degrees of damage.
‘‘The numbers alone speak volumes. But even more telling are the words we hear from the medics we are supporting on the ground,’’ said MSF Director General Meinie Nicolai. ‘‘Daily, we hear an increasing sense of hopelessness and despair, as our medical colleagues reach the limits of what a person can be expected to do.’’