Damascus-area battles pause 2nd day
5-hour lull ordered to let civilians leave, but wary residents staying put
BEIRUT — A brief Russia-ordered humanitarian pause was in effect for a second day Wednesday in rebel-held Damascus suburbs, but no civilians used the corridor manned by Syrian and Russian forces to leave.
Government forces, meanwhile, tried to push their way into the area, setting off ground battles.
Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the rebels, saying they were preventing civilians from leaving the area known as eastern Ghouta and suggested that Russia would not “endlessly tolerate” the situation there.
Russia has ordered a fivehour daily humanitarian pause to allow civilians to exit the region. But no humanitarian aid has gone in and no civilians have left since the daily pause began Tuesday. Residents said they do not trust the truce, and the U.N. and aid agencies criticized the unilateral arrangement, saying it gave no guarantees of safety for residents wishing to leave.
The limited pause came after a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for a nationwide 30-day cease-fire that failed to take hold. While the relentless bombing has subsided in the region, home to about 400,000 civilians, the Syrian government’s push to squeeze the insurgents out of the region continued.
On Wednesday, the European Union demanded that Russia, Iran and Turkey take responsibility for ensuring that the fighting stops in Syria and that a real 30-day halt in fighting be respected.
Opposition activists said Wednesday’s five-hour pause in eastern Ghouta was preceded by a barrage of airstrikes in the towns of Harasta and Douma, where Syrian troops and allied militia trying to push ahead with a ground offensive on a number of fronts from the east and west clashed with insurgent groups.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government shelling and limited clashes were reported on three fronts since the pause began: near Douma, in Harasta Farms, and near Shifouniyah.
Commentators on pro-Syrian government TV cheered the Syrian troops, saying there can be no going back on getting the region under control.
The U.N. resolution came as more than 500 civilians were killed over the course of a week in eastern Ghouta and the region’s medical facilities were targeted, overwhelming rescuers. On the first day of the pause, activists reported that about 20 civilians were killed, including several pulled from under the rubble from previous bombings.
Rescuers known as the Syrian Civil Defense or the White Helmets said one of their own was killed Wednesday in an airstrike on Ottaya, which hit as a team of rescuers was evacuating injured from a building.
Putin said many militants in eastern Ghouta belong to groups listed by the U.N. as terrorist organizations. Speaking after the Kremlin talks with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Putin noted that the militants have regularly shelled Damascus and that many rounds landed near the Russian Embassy.
“Shells keep regularly coming from there, there are 50-80 rocket and mortar strikes on some days. As we know well here in Russia, mortar rounds even hit the territory of the Russian Embassy and the trade mission. Shall we endlessly tolerate that? No, of course not,” he said.
Eastern Ghouta, adjacent to the Syrian capital, came under opposition control in the early days of the revolt against the Syrian government, threatening President Bashar Assad’s seat of power. Under siege since 2013, the region relied on tunnels and smuggling for supplies and movement. But these tunnels have been controlled by the government in the past months, tightening the siege on the region.
State-run al-Ikhbariya TV broadcast Wednesday from the deserted corridor as ambulance workers milled around near parked vans. State media said the rebels inside Ghouta are preventing civilians from leaving, an accusation they deny. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said shells fell near the corridor, but no injuries were reported.
The TV presenter said government fliers have been dropped in eastern Ghouta indicating to civilians the route to the corridor and how to proceed if they want to leave the area.
“A message from the Syrian army: Because of the terrorists, thousands have died and live in shelters. We hope that you don’t cooperate with the terrorists,” the presenter reading from the flier said.