The Latest on Syria’s civil war (all times local):
3 p.m.
The Red Cross says Russia’s humanitarian pause in an embattled rebel-held enclave near Damascus offers little time for aid delivery and provides no guarantees of safety for besieged residents.
Ingy Sedky, the spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Damascus, said Tuesday that any respite from the fighting in eastern Ghouta is welcome, but that five hours is “very limited and there is little that we can achieve in such limited time.”
Sedky says aid was last delivered to eastern Ghouta in November, when the situation was already “very critical and very dire.” The area has been surrounded by government forces since 2013.
Russia ordered a five-hour daily pause starting Tuesday, urging civilians to leave as Moscow-backed government forces step up their offensive.
Sedky says many civilians will be afraid to use designated humanitarian corridors unless their safety can be guaranteed.
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9:40 a.m.
A Russia-ordered “humanitarian pause” has gone into effect to allow civilians to leave a rebel-held enclave near Damascus but there were no immediate signs of any corridors set up for people to use.
Rami Aburrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that no violence was reported on Tuesday in the enclave, known as eastern Ghouta — a collection of suburbs just east of the Syrian capital.
Aburrahman says only a few artillery shells hit Douma, one of the suburbs.
Civilians caught in the violence have mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order of a five-hour open corridor.
Ingy Sedky with the international Red Cross says that for a humanitarian corridor to work, it needs to be well planned and implemented with the consent of all parties in the conflict.
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