Fresh violence mars first day of Syria truce

A humanitarian "pause" announced by Russia in Syria's deadly bombardment of Eastern Ghouta struggled to take hold yesterday, with fresh violence erupting and no sign of aid deliveries or residents leaving the besieged enclave.

Nine days after Russian-backed regime forces intensified their campaign against the rebel-held enclave, the deal offered some respite to civilians who had been cowering in their basements.

But the first day of a five-hour daily "pause" announced by Russia was marred by fresh violence that saw at least two civilians killed by regime rocket fire.

The United Nations said ongoing combat had made it impossible to bring in aid or rescue the wounded, reported Reuters.

"We have reports this morning there is continuous fighting in eastern Ghouta," UN humanitarian spokesman Jens Laerke said. "Clearly the situation on the ground is not such that convoys can go in or medical evacuations can go out."

Moscow's plan falls short of a broader 30-day ceasefire which was voted by the United Nations but has yet to take effect, and has inspired little trust from among the 400,000 residents of the besieged enclave.

The regime deployed buses at the Al-Wafideen checkpoint to transport residents wanting to use a humanitarian corridor to flee what UN chief Antonio Guterres last called "hell on earth".

But no civilians ventured towards the regime forces guarding the checkpoint, where large portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin could be seen side-by-side.

State news agency SANA accused armed groups in Eastern Ghouta of firing several rockets on the path of the corridor declared by Russia to allow for the evacuation of civilians.

Russia yesterday said the future of ceasefire in the enclave near Damascus will depend on the rebels holed up there, as the Russian military accused the fighters of violating a "humanitarian pause" called by Moscow.

A Syrian man stands inside a destroyed building in the rebel-held town of Haza, in the besieged Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, yesterday. A humanitarian "pause" announced by Russia in Syria's deadly bombardment of Eastern Ghouta struggled to take hold, with fresh violence erupting and no sign of aid deliveries or residents leaving the besieged enclave. Photo: AFP

TRUCE A FARCE

It singled out the former al-Qaeda affiliate present in some parts of the enclave, accusing it of trying to prevent civilians from leaving "to use them as human shields".

Some residents left the basements they had been cowering in for days to check on their property and buy food despite skyrocketing prices in the enclave, besieged since 2013.

But many in the enclave, which lies on the eastern outskirts of the Syria capital, appeared distrustful of the "pause" announced by Damascus's main ally.

"This Russian truce is a farce. Russia is killing us and bombing us every day," said Samer al-Buaidhani, a 25-year-old resident of Douma, which is the main town in Eastern Ghouta.

"I don't believe it's safe for me or my family to leave by this system," he told AFP.

More than 550 civilians, almost a quarter of them children, have been killed since February 18 in the Syrian and Russian bombardment of Eastern Ghouta, making it one of the bloodiest episodes of the country's seven-year-old conflict.

Violence levels were significantly lower yesterday as the "humanitarian pause" kicked in but two civilians were killed by rocket fire on the town of Jisreen, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

Another 16 people were wounded across Eastern Ghouta, the Britain-based group said.