The so-called “moderate opposition”, accidentally consisting of al-Qaeda-linked militants and their allies, is preventing civilians from using daily humanitarian in Eastern Ghouta to leave the conflict area.
The Russian state-run news agency TASS reports (source):
Militants in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta announced curfew for time of humanitarian pauses and outlaw the civilians’ mass rallies, Maj Gen Vladimir Zolotukhin, a representative of the Russian center for reconciliation of opposing sides in Syria, told reporters on Sunday.
“According to the information, the Center has receive, participants of the illegal armed groups in Eastern Ghouta have announced curfew for civilians for the time of humanitarian pauses,” he said. “The locals, who violate these regulations, undergo public punishments.”
The militants also banned mass rallies, so that the locals could not breakthrough towards the humanitarian corridor.
The sixth humanitarian pause began in Eastern Ghouta at 09:00 local time on Sunday. The militants continue holding the locals from crossing the humanitarian corridor. Only two children managed to use the corridor in the past humanitarian pauses. On Saturday, the militants’ sharpshooters fired on the humanitarian corridor, where they injured three civilians.
Last Tuesday, the Syrian-Russian-Iranian alliance introduced a daily humanitarian pause in Damascus’ Eastern Ghouta from 09:00 to 14:00 local time. Russian and Syrian forces opened a humanitarian corridor connecting Damascus and Eastern Ghouta. However, the so-called “moderate opposition” – Ahrar al-Sham, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Jaish al-Islam and Faylaq al-Rahman, has been opposing the effort.
