Civilians could not leave eastern Ghouta on Tuesday as humanitarian corridors had been shelled by militants, Russian General Viktor Pankov said. The humanitarian pause in the besieged, rebel-held eastern Ghouta area of Damascus entered into force earlier in the day. “At 9am on February 27, a humanitarian corridor was opened for the release of civilians from the zone of de-escalation,” RIA Novosti quoted Pankov as saying. The general, who heads a group supervising a de-escalation zone in eastern Ghouta, added that “militants launched intense shelling and not a single civilian has come out.” Separate reports say that the Syrian army resumed its operation in eastern Ghouta after breaking through the frontlines of the Jaysh al-Islam terrorist group dominating the area.