MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/. None of the local civilians has been able to leave Eastern Ghouta along the humanitarian corridor in the past 24 hours, Maj Gen Yuri Yevtushenko, the chief of the Russian center for reconciliation of warring sides in Syria, said on Friday.

"Militants keep firing at civilians who are attempting to flee from Eastern Ghouta. Moreover, the shelling continues during humanitarian pauses. None of the civilians has been able to leave the enclave over the last 24 hours," Yevtushenko said.

The reconciliation center’s hotline has been receiving calls about the humanitarian plight in Eastern Ghouta.

"Driven to desperation people are set to break through from the de-escalation zone even bypassing the checkpoints," he added.

Humanitarian corridor

On February 24, the UN Security Council in a unanimous vote approved the resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire across Syria to allow aid access to the population. The Security Council’s 15 members, including Russia, voted for the document.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered daily humanitarian pauses to be introduced in Eastern Ghouta from 09:00 to 14:00 local time, starting from February 27. In the village of Al-Wafideen, the Syrian authorities and the Russian center for reconciliation of warring sides created conditions for civilians to evacuate from Eastern Ghouta.

As the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the Warring Sides reported, the terrorists numerously shelled the corridor meant for the exit of civilians from that area and were also keeping hostage the population in their controlled Eastern Ghouta, threatening to punish those wishing to leave.