Russia orders daily pause in brutal attacks
AMMAN, Jordan — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered a daily ceasefire in eastern Ghouta, the rebel-held enclave near the Syrian capital of Damascus and the target of a ferocious government assault that has turned life in the region, according to the U.N., into “hell on Earth.”
“As ordered by the Russian president, a daily humanitarian pause from (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) is being introduced starting Feb. 27 to avoid civilian casualties in East Ghouta,” the Russian defense ministry announced.
Russia is the top international supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Its warplanes and special forces troops, which first deployed in the country in 2015, are credited with turning the tide of the war in Assad’s favor.
The pause in the fighting, the statement continued, would allow civilians to leave the area through special humanitarian corridors. It would also facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance in the enclave, which has suffered severe shortages of food and medications under a years-long siege by government forces.
The U.N. estimates there are some 393,000 residents in eastern Ghouta, a grouping of Damascus suburbs under the control of a mix of opposition factions.
But civilians caught in the violence mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order of a limited truce.
“They will be so kind to grant us a mere five hours when they will not bomb us,” said activist Firas Abdullah, a resident of Douma, a town in the region. “Then the rest of the day, they will bomb us as usual. It is like a permission to kill.”
Putin’s announcement comes two days after the U.N. Security Council, despite lastminute wrangling by Russia and Iran (another staunch Assad backer), unanimously adopted a 30-day truce in Syria in a bid to end the latest round of violence in eastern Ghouta, where a Russian-backed offensive has killed some 561 people since last week, activists said.
Yet on Sunday, fighting continued unabated as pro-government troops began a ground assault on five fronts to breach rebel lines. And on Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-rebel monitor based in the U.K with a network of activists in Syria, said 22 people were killed.
“Security council resolutions are only meaningful if implemented,” said Antonio Guterres, the U.N.’s secretarygeneral. “It is high time to stop this hell on Earth,” he said.
Also Monday, pro-opposition activists also accused government forces of deploying chlorine gas in Shayfoniyeh, a town roughly eight miles northeast of central Damascus, after an air strike in which victims exhibited symptoms including eye irritation and breathing difficulties. The Associated Press contributed to
this report.