Syria: 103,606 Syrians Evacuated from Eastern Ghouta

“Since the beginning of humanitarian pauses, a total of 103,606 people have been evacuated from Eastern Ghouta with the assistance of the Russian reconciliation center,” he said, TASS reported.

He added that during the day as many as 6,550 people left Eastern Ghouta via the humanitarian corridor in the settlement of Muhayam al-Wafideen. In all, 21,681 people have used this corridor to leave the town of Douma since February 28.

According to Yevtushenko, more than 1,000 food baskets were distributed among the people in camps for those internally displaced from Ghrouta at the humanitarian corridors’ checkpoints on March 22. More than 2,600 hot meals were cooked for these people. A humanitarian operation was conducted in the city of Aleppo, where more than one tonne of bread was handed out to civilians. Drinking water was delivered to the settlement of Marrat in the province of Deir Ezzur. As many as 98 Syrians, including 34 children, received first aid assistance from Russian military medics during the day.

“As social infrastructure is restored in the Syrian province and everyday life is getting back to normal, more people return to their former homes. Thus, during the day, as many as 115 people returned to their homes in the province of Homs, and 537 people – in the province of Deir Ezzur,” the Russia reconciliation center chief stated.

Following United Nations Security Council Resolution 2401 of February 24 calling to stop hostilities in Syria, daily humanitarian pause have been in effect at Russia’s initiative in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta since February 27. They are aimed at providing civilians and unarmed militants with an opportunity to leave the area. Militants disrupted humanitarian pauses in the first several days, but later on shelling incident ceased, so civilians have been leaving the enclave through the humanitarian corridor every day.