DAMASCUS, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Relative calm prevails in Damascus as the Russian-proposed humanitarian pause of fighting in Syria's Eastern Ghouta went into effect on Tuesday morning.
The pause entered into force at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT) and is expected to continue until 2 p.m. in the conflict-torn area.
Such humanitarian pause, however, will take place every day within the same period of time to allow evacuation of civilians from the rebel-held zone.
The location of the humanitarian corridor was set to be the Wafidin crossing, the only crossing between Damascus and Eastern Ghouta.
Local media said the crossing has been prepared with ambulances and buses to transport the civilians who will leave into safe places.
It's not yet clear if the rebels will allow the civilians to leave Eastern Ghouta, as Muhammad Alloush, the political chief of Islam Army, said a day earlier that only the wounded will leave, not the regular civilians.
State-run al-Ekhbaraia TV said the rebels fired at an area near the crossing Tuesday morning to prevent the civilians from leaving.
The humanitarian pause comes just days after the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2401, which requires all parties in Syria to immediately cease clashes and provide a sustained humanitarian break for at least 30 days.
But terror-designated groups such as the Islamic State (IS) and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front are excluded from the resolution, as the battles against them continue.
The UN organizations have already sounded the alarm about the situation in Eastern Ghouta, where 400,000 people are believed to be trapped in the sprawling area east of Damascus.
The military showdown started to intensify between the Syrian army and rebels 10 days ago, with mortar shells from rebels hitting Damascus while the Syrian forces continued their massive bombardment against rebel positions in the area.
