Russia: 76 people evacuated from East Ghouta

damascus - Russian military personnel say that 76 people, including 49 children, left the Syrian eastern district of Ghouta on Monday through a humanitarian corridor. According to a Russian monitoring center on the ceasefire in Syria, militants would have attacked civilians on their way to the corridor, killing five people, according to Russian news agencies.

One of the most important rebel groups in the Syrian region of East Ghouta, Jaish al-Islam, said earlier in the day to have reached an agreement with Russia on the evacuation of wounded from the besieged area. Russia is an important military ally of the Syrian government.

The Syrian government wants to regain possession of the rebel stronghold of East Ghouta, close to the capital Damascus. The offensive is accompanied by heavy bombing and artillery bombardments. The violence in the enclave has cost the lives of at least 1100 civilians since mid-February, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.