Russia Claims 300 Civilians Evacuated From Eastern Ghouta

A representative of Russia’s cease-fire monitoring center in Syria said more than 300 people have been evacuated from Eastern Ghouta in recent weeks, Reuters reported, citing the RIA news agency.

The evacuations reportedly began shortly after Russia opened a humanitarian corridor in the besieged suburbs more than two weeks ago.

The 300 people include more than 100 civilians who were evacuated on Tuesday in the first batch of medical evacuations from the area since pro-government forces began their operation against the besieged opposition-held enclave last month.

“Since the humanitarian corridor started working in the region of Eastern Ghouta, more than 300 people have left, the majority of these people left in the last few days,” Major General Vladimir Zolotukhin was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

U.N. Expresses Concern Over ‘Monstrous Indifference’ to Suffering of Children in Syria

A senior U.N. official on Tuesday accused warring parties of showing “monstrous indifference” to the suffering of Syria’s children by ignoring demands for a cease-fire, Agence France-Presse reported.

The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution last month demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria to allow for aid deliveries and medical evacuations, but the agreement has yet to take hold on the ground.

“What is happening to those children is too graphic for our TV screens, but not graphic enough it seems to motivate those who can stop the senseless violence to do so,” Kate Gilmore, the U.N. deputy high commissioner for human rights, told the U.N. Human Rights Council.

“Is it not tantamount to a monstrous indifference to the suffering of children that Security Council resolutions for cease-fires are flouted?” she asked.

Meanwhile, Panos Moumtzis, the U.N.’s top humanitarian official for Syria, said on Tuesday that “more than 1,000 children were either reported killed or injured” across Syria in the first two months of 2018.

Citing U.N. figures, AFP said that out of Syria’s 8.4 million children, two-thirds are in need of humanitarian assistance, 1 million live in areas that are difficult for aid convoys to reach and 170,000 remain in besieged areas.

Government Airstrikes Target Southern De-Escalation Zone

Government airstrikes targeted rebel-held towns in the southern province of Daraa on Tuesday, in violation of a U.S.-backed de-escalation zone agreement in the area, Reuters reported, citing rebel sources.

The attacks have led to growing concerns among Western powers that the government will try to reclaim rebel-held parts of southern Syria after driving rebel forces from the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus.

Syrian warplanes started bombing parts of Daraa on Monday for the first time since Moscow and Washington designated parts of southern Syria a de-escalation zone last July, Reuters said.

Earlier on Monday, the U.S. State Department expressed concern over reports of government attacks. “If (reports of the strikes are) true, this would be a clear violation of the (southwest) cease-fire by the Syrian regime that broadens the conflict,” an unidentified State Department official said.

The State Department also called for an “urgent meeting” in Jordan to ensure compliance with the de-escalation zone agreement in southern Syria.

Citing Free Syrian Army commanders, Reuters said the attacks were meant to deter opposition forces from opening a new front in Syria’s south to relieve pressure on rebels battling government forces in Eastern Ghouta.

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• Time: The Syrian Civil War Has Raged for 7 Years. This Is What the U.S. Can Do to Help End It