Russia has offered rebels and their families safe passage out of besieged Eastern Ghouta as Syrian government forces continue to pound the opposition enclave.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it would protect insurgents who accept the offer from prosecution, according to a statement by Russia’s Defense Ministry. The Russian military would also provide transport and security, the statement said.
Russia — the Syrian government’s most powerful ally — has accused rebels of preventing civilians from leaving Eastern Ghouta. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a daily humanitarian pause in the fighting in the Damascus suburb and the opening of a humanitarian corridor.
Only a handful of civilians have reportedly been evacuated. The Syrian government and the rebels have traded blame over the corridor’s closure, each arguing that shelling from the other side has prevented the safe passage of civilians.
On Monday, a convoy carrying much needed food and medical supplies entered the rebel enclave for the first time since the Syrian government launched a deadly offensive on the area two weeks ago.
Shelling was ongoing as the 46-truck aid convoy delivered the aid. “We delivered as much as we could amidst shelling. Civilians are caught in a tragic situation,” Sajjad Malik, the United Nations refugee agency representative in Syria said in a tweet.
The Syrian government barred much of the medical supplies originally in the aid convoy from getting through, according to Linda Tom, spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Syria (OCHA).
Almost 600 people are believed to have been killed and over 2,000 injured since Syrian government forces launched an air and ground offensive on Eastern Ghouta on February 18, according to the UN.
On Sunday, government forces took control of several villages inside Eastern Ghouta, marking a major turning point in the offensive, which has now entered its third week.
Eastern Ghouta is one of the last major rebel-held enclaves in the country, which has been ravaged by war for almost seven years.