Flouting UN truce call, Assad forces shell Eastern Ghouta

In open defiance of the UN Security Council call for a cease-fire and Russia's "humanitarian pause," on Tuesday the Assad regime continued firing artillery shells into Syria's besieged Eastern Ghouta enclave, according to Syrian civil defense sources.

The White Helmets, a Syrian civil defense group, said one civilian was killed and scores were injured when the regime launched artillery shells into Eastern Ghouta's Douma, Bayt Sava, and al-Marj regions at around 10.30 a.m. (0730GMT).

The death toll is feared to grow.

The UN Security Council on Saturday adopted a resolution calling for a 30-day cease-fire in Syria "without delay."

On Monday, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said Russia would introduce a daily humanitarian pause in eastern Ghouta as of Feb. 27 by order of President Vladimir Putin.

A humanitarian corridor will be open for civilians to exit the region every day from 9 am till 2 pm (0600-1100GMT), said Shoigu.

Maj. Gen. Yuri Yevtushenko, the head of Russian Center for Reconciliation of opposition parties in Syria, also said the humanitarian pause would apply to the regime.

Eastern Ghouta, a Damascus suburb, has been under siege for the last five years and humanitarian access to the area, which is home to some 400,000 people, has been completely cut off.

In the past eight months, Assad regime forces have intensified their siege of Eastern Ghouta, making it nearly impossible for food or medicine to get into the district, and leaving thousands of patients in need of treatment.

Since Feb. 19, escalating hostilities have resulted in 500 deaths and some 1,500 injuries in Eastern Ghouta, with 24 health facilities impacted by shelling and airstrikes, according to UN officials.

Syria has been locked in a devastating conflict since early 2011 when the regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.

According to UN officials, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict to date.