Russian-Backed Five-Hour Truce Starts in Eastern Ghouta

A Russian-backed “humanitarian pause” went into effect on Tuesday in the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus, the Associated Press reported.

This comes one day after Russia ordered a daily pause in fighting from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to allow people to evacuate the opposition enclave, which has been battered by government airstrikes and artillery attacks in recent weeks.

Moscow also ordered the opening of a “humanitarian corridor” to let civilians evacuate the area, where more than 500 people have been killed since last week.

Rebel groups in Eastern Ghouta have responded to the Russian-ordered truce by accusing Moscow of forcing people to choose between forced displacement or death in government bombardment, according to Reuters.

The Russian-ordered truce is not part of a resolution adopted on Saturday by the United Nations Security Council demanding a 30-day pause in fighting across Syria to allow for aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

It was not immediately clear when the U.N.-backed agreement would be enforced but Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Monday that it would “start when all sides of the conflict agree on how to introduce it,” according to the BBC.

There are some 400,000 people trapped in the besieged suburbs. Eastern Ghouta is the last opposition enclave near the Syrian capital. The region has come under strain since government forces stepped up attacks on the area in late December.

On Monday at least 34 people were killed in airstrikes and artillery attacks on Eastern Ghouta, the AP said, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Turkey Sends Special Forces to Afrin Ahead of New Offensive

Turkish police and paramilitary special forces crossed into Syria on Monday ahead of what Ankara has described as a “new battle” in the Kurdish enclave of Afrin, according to Reuters.

Turkish forces that entered Afrin from two points in the northwest said they would consolidate control over areas captured by Turkey and take part in urban fighting in the district, Reuters said, citing Turkish media.

Turkey’s operations in Afrin have so far focused mostly on rural regions, while urban centers such as Afrin city remain under the control of the Kurdish YPG militia.

Turkish deputy prime minister Bekir Bozdag said on Monday that the deployment of police special forces “is in preparation for the new battle that is approaching.”

Turkey has been battling the YPG militia in Afrin since it launched “Operation Olive Branch” last month.

On Monday, the Turkish army secured control over of the outer edges of Afrin after pushing YPG fighters back from a number of villages near Turkey’s border, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency.

The advance has created a buffer zone, preventing Kurdish forces in Afrin from accessing the Turkish border, Anadolu said. It has also carved out a “crescent-shaped corridor” that connects areas held by Turkey-backed rebels in Aleppo to Idlib province.

Expanded control will help Turkey fight “against terrorism” in the region, Anadolu said.

E.U. Adds Two New Syrian Officials to Sanctions List

The European Union said on Monday that it has added Syria’s industry and information ministers to its sanctions list.

The two ministers were appointed last month.

The decision means 257 people now have their assets frozen and are prevented from traveling in the 28-nation bloc for “the violent repression against the civilian population in Syria, benefiting from or supporting the regime, and/or being associated with such persons.”

Recommended Reads

• IRIN: Exclusive: U.N. Shelved 2017 Reforms to Syria Aid Response
• Al Jazeera: ‘Mass Psychosis’ in Eastern Ghouta?
• BBC: Syria Conflict: Women ‘Sexually Exploited in Return for Aid’
• The Los Angeles Times: From a Besieged Syrian Suburb, Tales of Love, Death and Survival
• ABC News: Analysis: Trump Administration Unable or Unwilling to Stop New Syria Bloodshed