Syria conflict: Eastern Ghouta 'humanitarian pause' begins

A five-hour pause in the Syrian government's assault on the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus is under way, although both sides have reported fresh artillery attacks.

The government's ally Russia ordered the pause to allow civilians to leave.

It is not clear if agencies will also be able to deliver aid to the area, where 390,000 people have come under relentless bombardment in recent days.

The US has urged Russia to use its influence to secure a 30-day truce.

The UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution demanding a nationwide cessation hostilities on Saturday, but it was not given a specific start date.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, said the situation in the Eastern Ghouta had been relatively calm overnight.

But it reported that in the first two hours of the Russian-ordered "humanitarian pause" a number of shells hit the towns of Douma, Harasta and Misraba.

The Syrian Civil Defence, whose volunteer rescue workers are widely known as the White Helmets, said one person was killed in Douma by shellfire.

The Syrian state news agency, Sana, reported that "terrorists" had shelled the route of the humanitarian corridor leading to the government-controlled al-Wafideen Camp, which is to the north-east of Douma.

At least 568 civilians have been killed in government air and artillery strikes on the enclave over the past nine days, according to the Syrian Observatory.

Russia said the pause in bombardment would run from 09:00 until 14:00 local time (07:00-12:00 GMT) daily.

The Syrian Red Crescent would help set up the humanitarian corridor and residents would be informed about how to leave via leaflets, text messages and videos, it added.

Buses and ambulances will be waiting at a crossing to evacuate the sick and wounded.

"Five hours is better than no hours, but we would like to see an end to all hostilities extended by 30 days, as stipulated by the Security Council," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told AFP news agency.

Will the ceasefire hold?

By Martin Patience, BBC News, Beirut

For now, this ceasefire appears to be holding, and for a few hours at least, the residents of the Eastern Ghouta may get some respite from more than a week of intense bombardment.

Most have been sheltering in basements to escape the air strikes.

The fact that the temporary truce was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin gives it a better chance than most of success.

Moscow is backing the Syrian government's assault to retake the Eastern Ghouta, the last rebel stronghold close to the capital.

This move by Moscow effectively replaces a UN Security Council resolution, which had called for a 30-day ceasefire across the entire country.

Will the pause allow aid to be brought in?

Dr Mohamad Katoub a Turkey-based doctor with the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), which supports hospitals in the Eastern Ghouta, told the BBC: "We don't believe that this truce will bring any benefits for the civilians inside Eastern Ghouta. Five hours is not enough to do anything."

"This truce doesn't mean that we NGOs there will have any access to bring any items inside Eastern Ghouta.

"The only access is the UN inter-agency convoys. Their access there is very limited due to the restrictions from the Syrian government.

"Only 10 convoys entered Ghouta in 14 months and those convoys brought less than 10% of the needs."

Will people be able to get out during the pause?

Al-Wafideen has long been the formal point for people to enter and exit Eastern Ghouta.

But Reach Initiative, which is monitoring the humanitarian situation in the enclave, said earlier this month that less than 10% of the enclave's population - made up of public sector employees and males over 40 - were permitted to leave. Women and children reportedly continued to be forbidden by rebel groups from leaving for security reasons, it added.

The organisation said people attempting to leave the area faced sniper fire, landmines, shelling, verbal and physical harassment, detention, and, in the case of women, sexual harassment, humiliating inspections and beatings.

Is this the same as the UN's proposed truce?

No. The Security Council resolution demanded that "all parties cease hostilities without delay for at least 30 consecutive days" to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations of critically ill people.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that the resolution needed to be implemented immediately, warning: "Eastern Ghouta cannot wait. It's high time to stop this hell on Earth."

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that the UN-mandated truce would "start when all sides of the conflict agree on how to introduce it".

The jihadist groups Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda are excluded, as well as the major Islamist rebel factions Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam.

Mr Lavrov called them "partners of al-Nusra Front" - the name of a former al-Qaeda affiliate whose latest incarnation is an alliance of jihadists called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). It has a small presence in the Eastern Ghouta.

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