E. Ghouta militants disrupted 1st day of ceasefire & went on offensive – Reconciliation Center

0
902
This frame grab from video provided By Step News Agency, a Syrian opposition media outlet that is consistent with independent AP reporting, shows smoke rise from the government forces shelling on Wadi Barada, northwest of Damascus, Syria. Water supplies to Damascus have been largely cut off for nearly two weeks because of fighting between pro-government forces and rebels for control of the main tributary, forcing millions in the Syrian capital to scramble for enough to drink and wash with. The cut-off is a major challenge to the government’s effort throughout the nearly 6-year-old civil war to keep the capital as insulated as possible from the effects of the conflict tearing apart much of the country. (Step News Agency, via AP)

… from Russia Today, Moscow

We never know which photos are real and which are staged.

[ Editor’s Note: It came as no surprise that we are seeing exactly what happened in Aleppo when corridors were set up for civilians to leave. The jihadis just shelled them, even shooting people they could, to “discourage” their leaving.

Eye witness reports of these actions poured out of the local population once the city was liberated, but not only was Western media gone, it never acknowledged their litany of lies that Assad was killing his own people.

The US coalition is pushing full bore ahead to wreck the peace talks, which the Lebanon media published in spades with excerpts from a diplomatic cable they got. Our local source tell us it is real, but we are still surprised how the story has been bottled up as the expose is filled with details.



If we learn nothing else about its validity, if we do not get a link to the full cable, then we will watch to see if the US coalition plans roll out as described … Jim W. Dean ]

Jim's Editor’s Notes are solely crowdfunded via PayPal
Jim's work includes research, field trips, Heritage TV Legacy archiving & more. Thanks for helping. Click to donate >>

The civilians continue to get the worst of it in Syria

– First published … February 27, 2018

The first five-hour ceasefire in Syria’s eastern Ghouta was sabotaged by armed groups holed up there, which shelled the humanitarian corridor and prevented civilians from leaving, the Russian Center for Reconciliation said.
 –

“As of 14:30 local time, no one has left the area,” Major General Vladimir Zolotukhin, a spokesman for the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, told journalists. “The militants do not let anyone out,” he said, adding that the situation on the ground remained “complicated” as the militants continued to shell the neighboring area, and even went on offensive against the Syrian Army positions.

The armed groups had been carrying out provocations for some five hours by conducting shelling around every 30 minutes, the general said, noting that the Syrian government forces observed the humanitarian pause and did not respond to the incitement. The attacks also targeted the recently established eastern Ghouta humanitarian corridor.

According to the Syrian SANA news agency, the militants shelled a refugee camp in the al-Wafidin neighborhood near Damascus, which is part of the corridor. The attack on the humanitarian corridor resulted in no casualties. However, six civilians were injured in separate militant shelling that targeted a settlement in the Damascus countryside.

The militants did not just disrupt the humanitarian pause by continuing to shell neighboring areas but used it to launch a full scale offensive on the positions of the Syrian Army, the head of the Russian Reconciliation Center said.

The armed groups also conducted mortar shelling of the humanitarian corridor on two occasions, with some shells hitting the area just 500 meters away from a checkpoint.

The Western media, however, place the blame for the situation in eastern Ghouta solely on Damascus and Moscow. USA Today described the situation in the neighborhood as a “tragedy beyond words” in a dramatic piece, in which it accused Russia and the Syrian government of attempts to “oust the rebels.” The Guardian called eastern Ghouta “hell on earth,”claiming that local residents were “unaware” of any humanitarian corridors.

The Russian Reconciliation Center called on the militants to cease fire and let civilians leave the area. It also said it guarantees safety to those willing to leave eastern Ghouta, adding that mobile humanitarian relief camps have been set up in the areas controlled by the government forces.

On Monday, the center announced that a daily humanitarian pause would be introduced in eastern Ghouta starting February 27 to avoid civilian casualties. The pause is scheduled to last between 09:00 and 14:00 (local time). The measure was proposed in light of the UN Security Council resolution on a 30-day ceasefire in Syria.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called on the armed opposition groups to comply with the UN demands and observe the ceasefire. “I would like to express hope that the opposition [groups] that, according to the UN data, continue to shell Damascus, would take responsibility and put up with the necessity to comply with the UN Security Council’s demands,” the minister said during a joint conference with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in Moscow on Tuesday.

The French minister said that the militant groups entrenched in eastern Ghouta had sent a letter to the UN, in which they agreed to comply with the resolution. Lavrov, however, doubted their intentions and said that the armed groups should first back up their words with real actions.

“We will see how it will be implemented in practice,” Lavrov said, pointing out that militant group Jaysh al-Islam had already refused to let civilians out of eastern Ghouta as it claimed that the UN resolution somehow does not allow it.

The Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria has repeatedly warned that the armed groups controlling eastern Ghouta are blocking civilians from leaving the suburb, essentially keeping hundreds of people hostage, including women and children. The local militant units, which include Jaysh al-Islam, Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, Faylaq al-Rahman, and Fajr al-Ummah Brigade, even formed a unified command to coordinate their disruptive activities.

Meanwhile, Le Drian said that Paris is fully supportive of the Moscow’s initiative involving the humanitarian pause in eastern Ghouta. “Introduction of a five-hour pause was a real step forward,”he said, adding that “it was done upon Russia’s initiative and we fully support that.”

France’s top diplomat noted, however, that a full 24-hour ceasefire would be “even better.” He also praised the establishment of the Syrian constitutional committee, which was agreed upon at the recent Syrian National Dialogue Congress meeting in Sochi.

“The [peace] process has been driven from a deadlock and one should embrace this [opportunity] to revive the dialog under the auspice of the UN,” Le Drian said.

ATTENTION READERS

We See The World From All Sides and Want YOU To Be Fully Informed
In fact, intentional disinformation is a disgraceful scourge in media today. So to assuage any possible errant incorrect information posted herein, we strongly encourage you to seek corroboration from other non-VT sources before forming an educated opinion.

About VT - Policies & Disclosures - Comment Policy
Due to the nature of uncensored content posted by VT's fully independent international writers, VT cannot guarantee absolute validity. All content is owned by the author exclusively. Expressed opinions are NOT necessarily the views of VT, other authors, affiliates, advertisers, sponsors, partners, or technicians. Some content may be satirical in nature. All images are the full responsibility of the article author and NOT VT.