Unsuccessful ‘Humanitarian Pause’ In Syria Prevents Delivery Of Aid, Evacuations

New York Times: ‘Humanitarian Pause’ in Syria: More Fighting, More Death
“In Damascus suburbs that have been under ferocious attack by the Syrian government, the first day of a Russia-declared cease-fire on Tuesday failed to yield the promised results: Civilians did not evacuate, the wounded were not ferried out, humanitarian aid did not flow in, and fighting persisted…” (Homsi et al., 2/27).

Reuters: Fighting in Syria’s Ghouta stops aid, 1,000 medical evacuations — U.N.
“Fighting and shelling continued in Eastern Ghouta on Tuesday, preventing any aid from reaching the besieged Syrian enclave during a five-hour pause ‘unilaterally’ declared by Russia, the United Nations said…” (Nebehay, 2/27).

U.N. News: Syria: ‘Actions, not words’ needed to save lives in East Ghouta — U.N. humanitarian wing
“… ‘The U.N. is ready to move convoys into East Ghouta, and to evacuate hundreds of casualties, as soon as security conditions permit,’ Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told reporters at Tuesday’s regular press briefing in Geneva. ‘In the current situation, that is not possible,’ he added…” (2/27).

Washington Post: No aid or evacuation for Eastern Ghouta as Syrian bombardments continue
“…Moscow said it was committed to continue the observance of a daily truce between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to allow aid to enter and civilians to leave the besieged Eastern Ghouta area. But aid agencies said the five-hour pause was too short to organize the delivery of food and medicine for 350,000 people across a front line in a war zone. Civilians said they were too afraid of the ongoing bombardments and of what may await them behind government lines once they escaped the area…” (Sly, 2/27).

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