Rebels 'on offensive' in Syria's Eastern Ghouta: Russian defence ministry

Rebels in Syria's Eastern Ghouta have gone on the offensive despite attempts to hold a "humanitarian pause", the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday.

Members of the Syrian Civil Defense group help residents during airstrikes and shelling by Syrian government forces, in Ghouta | AP

MOSCOW: Rebels in Syria's Eastern Ghouta have gone on the offensive despite attempts to hold a "humanitarian pause", the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday.

"During the 'humanitarian pause' fighters from armed groups continued attacking the positions of the government forces" around two settlements in Eastern Ghouta and then "went on the offensive in other directions too," the ministry said in a statement.