MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/. Militants entrenched in Eastern Ghouta launched 272 mortars and projectiles at Damascus over the past ten days, killing 13 people and wounding another 135, Major General Yuri Yevtushenko, the chief of the Russian center for reconciliation of the warring sides said on Tuesday.
He added that three of the dead were children.
On March 5, ten people died and 49 were wounded when the militants opened fire at Tishrin hospital.
The Russian military official said Eastern Ghouta militants also regularly shell Russian diplomatic and trade missions in the Syrian capital.
"Shelling of Damascus continues from the areas controlled by the militants," he said. "Specifically, they are targeting the Russian embassy, the trade mission and the Reconciliation Center."
He added that radical groups active in the area constantly attack pro-government troops in a bid to provoke them to return fire.
On the whole, though, the situation in Syria is returning to normal.
"The UN Security Council’s Resolution 2401, which establishes a 30-day ceasefire on the entire territory of the country, is facilitating the process in many ways," Gen Yevtushenko said. "Monitoring showed over the past several days that the parties to the conflict observe the ceasefire by and large. Also, we note a decrease in destructions."
He pointed out regular supplies of humanitarian aid to the population, as five humanitarian convoys organized by the UN and the Arab Red Crescent Society reached destinations over the past seven days.
"On the background of general stabilization, tensions continue running high in the Eastern Ghouta de-escalation zone," Gen Yevtushenko said.