Fighting continued in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area of Syria during the first daily five-hour “pause” ordered by the government’s ally Russia.
Activists said there were government air and artillery strikes, while Russia said rebels had shelled a “humanitarian corridor” meant to let civilians leave.
As a result, there were no UN aid deliveries or medical evacuations.
Some 393,000 people are trapped in the enclave near Damascus, which has been besieged by the government since 2013. After Tuesday’s “pause” officially ended, Syria Civil Defence, whose volunteer rescue workers are widely known as the White Helmets, reported civilian deaths in air strikes targeting the towns of Harasta and Misraba.
Russia’s defence ministry, meanwhile, said rebels in the Eastern Ghouta “went on the offensive” during the pause, including attacking government positions in two settlements.
